Virat Kohli, Shubman Gill score centuries each as India thrash West Indies to win first ODI

India picked up a comfortable eight-wicket win in the first ODI against West Indies at the Greenfield International Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram. Captain Shubman Gill and star batter Virat Kohli rose to the occasion, scoring a century each as West Indies were left with no answers in the middle. Their openers started the day well for the visitors, but as the game progressed, India took control and changed the complexion of the game.

Caribbean opener John Campbell scored 62 runs off 60 balls, while his opening partner Justin Greaves scored his maiden ODI century. The 32-year-old made 101 runs and after he departed, West Indies lost control of the game. Star spinner Kuldeep Yadav dominated the proceedings, picking up four wickets as West Indies were struggling to make any sort of impact. Towards the fag end, Amir Jangoo played a vital knock of unbeaten 58 runs and based on that, West Indies posted 295 runs on the board in the first innings.

At one point, the Shai Hope-led side looked to score over 330 runs in the first innings, but due to their poor batting, it wasn’t possible. Credit goes to Kuldeep for his tidy bowling, but also to Prasidh Krishna for his discipline spell. In the absence of Jasprit



Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj, with the latter being dropped, the Karnataka pacer bowled well, claiming two wickets for 60 runs in his 10 overs.

Chasing 296 runs, Gill and Rohit were off to a cracking start. The Indian captain was dropped early in the match and punished that with a cracking century. It was his 10th in the format. Meanwhile, he stitched a valuable 74-run partnership with Rohit Sharma, who made 32 runs off 35 balls. After he departed, Gill and Kohli changed the complexion of the game. 

The 27-year-old captain led from the front, scoring 110 runs off 108 balls. After he departed in the 34th over of the game, Kohli looked completely in control as he finished on unbeaten 139 runs off only 88 balls. Over the years, his strike rate has been a constant discussion, but these days, even in ODIs, the Delhi batter has improved his strike rate.

In another interesting move, Kohl used to be someone who used to complete his milestones with running singles most of the time. Against West Indies, he hit a six while completing his half-century, a six again to reach his ton and then back-to-back sixes to finish off the match. Now, that’s a new version of Kohli and no one wants it to stop.