[Watch] Virat Kohli takes a stunning catch at second slip in 1st India vs West Indies ODI
Veteran Indian cricketer Virat Kohli took a spectacular catch to effect the dismissal of Romario Shepherd during the first innings of the 1st ODI against West Indies. The match took place on Thursday (July 27) at the Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados.
West Indies batted first in the contest after losing the toss. A poor batting display resulted in a collapse as they were reduced to 96/5 in the 18th over. Big-hitting all-rounder Romario Shepherd arrived at the crease at this juncture, with West Indies in a heap of trouble.
He tried to play a shot against Jadeja and edged the ball towards the second slip of the fourth ball of the 18th over. Virat Kohli reacted well and dived low to his right to complete a superb grab.
You can watch the dismissal in the video below:
Team India Spin twins Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja skittle out West Indies for 114 in the first ODI
Hardik Pandya opened the bowling for India in this contest and gave an early breakthrough by dismissing Kyle Mayers (2) cheaply. Alick Athanaze (22) and Brandon King (17) tried to stabilize things for a while with a mini-partnership. Mukesh Kumar and Shardul Thakur sent them back to the pavilion before they could do any damage.
It was all one-way traffic after that. Ravindra Jadeja (3/37) and Kuldeep Yadav (4/6) ran through the rest of the West Indies batting line-up and triggered a massive collapse. As a result, the hosts got bundled out meekly for 114 in just 23 overs.
At the mid-innings break, Indian spinner Kuldeep Yadav reflected on the first innings, saying:
"Fast bowlers bowled well, they set it up and Umran's pace was good and then the ball was spinning a bit, I just tried to focus on the length, wasn't trying to do too much."
He added:
"I've been working on rhythm in the last two years, didn't get a good rhythm last year but now I'm feeling good with the increase in pace, with the same spin and grip, makes it difficult to go after. Depends on the condition, when they were five down, I had the options to try my variation. The way Jaddu bowled, I bowled only three overs!"
India will look to complete a comfortable victory and take a 1-0 lead in a three-match series.