Thiruvananthapuram: Kuldeep Yadav’s sorcery mitigated a maiden 50-over format hundred by Justin Greaves as India restricted the West Indies to an underwhelming 295 for seven in the first ODI Sunday.
Greaves (101, 108b) and his opening partner John Campbell (62, 60b) added 135 runs in 19.2 overs as the West Indies appeared to have primed for a far bigger total than the eventual one they managed after being asked to bat.
But Kuldeep (4/40) conjured some magic on a track that offered a smidgeon of assistance to spinners, curtailing the run of Windies batters.
The left-arm wrist spinner was equally brainy too on the day.
After keeping Campbell guessing with two wide deliveries on the off-stump, Kuldeep fired one in fuller and the left-handed batter’s miscued sweep ended in Prasidh Krishna’s hands at mid-on.
It was a huge relief for India as Campbell, who hammered Ravindra Jadeja for a four and two sixes in his first over en route to a 49-ball fifty, was settling in for a bigger knock.
Kuldeep soon dealt a severe blow, dismissing Shai Hope. The West Indies captain was deceived by the subtle change in line by Kuldeep, skying him to Jadeja near point.
Centurion Greaves and promising Jewel Andrew fell in successive balls to Kuldeep. The 31-year-old managed to sneak the ball under
Greaves’s sweep and the DRS umpire upheld the bowlers’ shout for a leg before wicket.
Andrew did not have much idea about a googly on the middle and off stumps line, and playing forward had disastrous consequences, a healthy edge to Rohit Sharma at first slip.
Suddenly, the West Indies found themselves shuddering at 198 for five from 176 for one. It required Amir Jangoo (58 not out) to stitch alliances of 48 runs for the sixth wicket with Roston Chase, and 38 runs for the seventh wicket with Matthew Ford, to get near 300.
Jangoo’s pulls were a treat to watch as pacer Prasidh felt the heat a couple of times.
Before that, Greaves played some exquisite shots around, helping the West Indies score more than six runs an over in the first 20-over segment as India might have felt a sweltering day much hotter.
The powerful right-hander reached his fifty in 42 balls and later his hundred in 104 balls as Indians withered under the heat – literally and figuratively.
In the second over, Greaves carved pacer Nitish Kumar Reddy for four fours, including two stunning drives, as the West Indies galloped off the block.
At that stage, India certainly felt the void left by the likes of Jasprit Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh, away in Japan for the Asian Games, and Varun Chakravarthy, recovering from an injury at the BCCI CoE.
It might also have made young names Gurnoor Brar, who was creamed for two successive fours by Jangoo, and Reddy of the need to improve further in this version.
The left-hander Jangoo reached 50 in just 38 balls with an astoundingly simple flick of his wrists six off Brar over the cow corner.
