Kuldeep, Jadeja lead India rout in 1st ODI

West Indies suffered a chastening defeat in the first ODI at Bridgetown in Barbados as India ran rampant with the ball to cruise to a five-wicket win. Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav shared seven scalps between them to bowl the West Indies out for 114 before Ishan Kishan’s dashing fifty led the Men in Blue home with 163 balls to spare.

It was a mismatch between the two sides as the visitors dominated from the outset after Rohit Sharma sent the West Indies into bat. Bowling with the new ball, Hardik Pandya drew first blood for the hosts, getting Kyle Mayers to mistime one to Rohit Sharma at mid-off. Coming in at number three, Alick Athanaze continued to show signs of promise with a few flashy boundaries but played one shot too many as he picked out Ravindra Jadeja at point, handing Mukesh Kumar his maiden ODI wicket on debut.

Shardul Thakur joined the action in the next over, knocking over Brandon King’s middle stump with a delivery that shaped back in, reducing the West Indies to 45 for 3. The experienced pair of Shai Hope and Shimron Hetmyer temporarily stemmed the flow of wickets, adding a 43-run stand to show some signs of life for the hosts.

However, the Indian spinners offered the Men in Maroon no respite as Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav ran riot through the middle to pick up the final seven wickets for just 26 runs. Jadeja cleaned up Hetmyer to kickstart the collapse before removing Rovman Powell and Romario Shepherd in the space of three deliveries, with both batters edging to slip.

The trial by spin continued upon the introduction of Kuldeep Yadav, with the wrist-spinner taking four wickets in just three overs to wipe off the tail. Yadav pinned Dominic Drakes and Yanic Cariah on the pads before Shai Hope missed a reverse sweep off the spinner and departed for 43. Jayden Seales was his final victim, with the pacer fending a catch to leg-slip to resign the West Indies to their third-lowest ODI total at home.

The victory was a foregone conclusion at the halfway mark, but India stumbled across the finishing line, losing five wickets in response. Ishan Kishan led the charge for the visitors, smashing a 44-ball half-century, but Shubman Gill and Suryakumar Yadav failed to make an impact, while Hardik Pandya was run out in unfortunate circumstances. Rohit Sharma came to bat at number seven for the Men in Blue and eventually finished the game off alongside Ravindra Jadeja, taking India home in the 23rd over to give them a 1-0 lead in the series.