WI vs IND: 1st T20I Review – Rohit, Karthik launch India to a win

As expected, visitors India put up a commanding display in the first T20I of the five-match series and recorded a comfortable victory against the West Indies at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Trinidad and Tobago. Chasing 191 to win, West Indies batters ran out of fuel as the batting order never looked bringing a scare to the Indian bowlers. Skipper Nicholas Pooran, Shimron Hetmyer and Rowman Powell were all dismissed under 20 runs as the hosts ended up 68 runs short.

Earlier, India started off with Rohit Sharma (64) and Suryakumar Yadav (24) opening the innings and the duo provided a good start with a 44-run partnership for the first wicket. Shreyas Iyer and Hardik Pandya could not add much to the scores, while Rishabh Pant and Ravindra Jadeja got the starts. However, it was the skipper Rohit’s half-century alongside an excellent finish from Dinesh Karthik (41* off 19 balls) that got the team to a match-winning total in the end.                                                   

Top Performers of the game

Rohit Sharma

Rohit Sharma played a captain’s innings at the top of the order for India and played the anchor role from one end. The right-hander scored a 44-ball 64 that comprised seven fours and two sixes at a strike rate of 145 and laid the impetus for a big score. His cut shots and the trademark pull shots were back and he looked in good touch throughout the innings.

Dinesh Karthik

Dinesh Karthik played the finisher role to perfection with a quickfire innings and helped India to post a competitive score in the first innings. The veteran batter came in at seven, and he remained unbeaten with a 19-ball 41 that comprised four fours and two sixes at a strike rate of 215. He was also named the Player of the Match.

What next for the two teams

India have taken a 1-0 lead in the five-match series and the second T20I is scheduled to take place at the Warner Park on August 1.