Ahmedabad: It was a momentous game for Team India as it was their 1000th ODI — the first team to reach the milestone.
And to make it memorable, the bowlers and skipper Rohit Sharma turned it into a virtual no-contest as the home team crushed the West Indies by 6 wickets with a whopping 22 overs to spare in the first of three ODIs versus the West Indies at Narendra Modi Stadium here.
India began their ODI journey at Headingley in 1974, when they lost to England by 4 wickets. The cricket-crazy nation has come a long way in 47 years as they are expected to win every match they play now.
After Rohit won the toss and chose to field, the West Indies were tied up in knots thanks to fine spells by Indian spinners Washington Sundar (3/30) and Yuzvendra Chahal (4/49).
The visitors slumped to 79 for 7 before a 78-run partnership between allrounders Jason Holder (57) and Fabian Allen (27) gave the innings some sort of respectability. The West Indies were eventually all out for 176.
Rohit (60) was in imperious form and put on 84 for the opening wicket with Ishan Kishan (29) in just 13 overs. Virat Kohli, who is no longer the captain in any format, was dismissed for 8 trying to pull after hitting two consecutive boundaries.
Rishabh Pant fell cheaply too, but Suryakumar Yadav (34 not out) and debutant Deepak Hooda (26 not out) maintained the momentum as India galloped to victory.
Scores: West Indies 176 in 43.5 overs. India 178/4 in 28 overs.
Result: India won by 6 wickets.
