‘Experiment bhaari padte padte reh gaya’ – Fans react as India defeat West Indies by 5 wickets in 1st ODI

India’s three-match ODI series against West Indies began on 27 July 2023. All eyes were on Rohit Sharma and his men as they were looking to do well in order to get prepared for the upcoming ODI World Cup in India later this year. While West Indies were looking for a fresh start after failing to get qualified for the upcoming mega event. 

Speaking of the match, Rohit Sharma won the toss and asked the home side to bat first. For Men in Blue, Mukesh Kumar was handed a debut. Some decisions raised the eyebrows of fans as Ishan Kishan got preferred over Sanju Samson and Kuldeep Yadav was preferred over Yuzvendra Chahal in the final playing XI.    

India defeated West Indies by 5 wickets in the first ODI

While batting first, the Windies had a horrible start as they lost their first three wickets for 45 runs in 8.3 overs. After that, skipper Shai Hope and Shimron Hetmyer tried to steady the ship with a 43-run partnership for the fourth wicket. But, after Hetmyer’s dismissal, they again suffered a batting collapse as the home side got bundled out for just 114 runs in 23 overs. Hope was the highest scorer with 43 runs off 45 balls, including four fours and one six. Kuldeep Yadav was exceptional as he took four wickets for just six runs in three overs. Along with him, Ravindra Jadeja took three wickets for 37 runs in six overs. Shardul Thakur, Hardik Pandya, and Mukesh grabbed one wicket each.

Then, for the chase, fans were left surprised as Shubman Gill and Ishan Kishan came out as openers. But, Gill’s dismal form in this tour continued as he got out for just seven runs off 16 balls. After that, Suryakumar Yadav was sent at the number three position but he also got out on 19 runs off 25 balls, including three fours and one six. Then, surprisingly, Hardik Pandya came out to bat as India reached 70 runs for two wickets in 13 overs. But, Pandya got out early as he scored just five runs. Ishan got out after scoring 52 runs off 46 balls, including seven fours and one six while Shardul Thakur also got out after scoring just one run. Thus, India scored 98 runs for five wickets in 18 overs. Skipper, Rohit came out to bat at the number seven position. Finally, Rohit and Jadeja held their nerves and India chased down the target in 22.5 overs with five wickets in hand. Kuldeep won the Player of the Match award.

Here is how fans have reacted to the victory of India in the first ODI:     

https://twitter.com/cricketforjos/status/1684620520292007936