India began their home campaign with a commanding win over West Indies, and a packed house in Thiruvananthapuram got everything it could wish for. Two centuries, one sharp bowling performance and a chase completed with plenty to spare.
The visitors looked healthy early on. Justin Greaves and John Campbell put together a 135 run opening partnership, with Greaves driving fluently on the way to his maiden ODI century. Then Kuldeep Yadav, back in the side after a lengthy wait, changed the game. He removed Campbell, Shai Hope, Greaves and Jewel Andrew, finishing with 4 for 40 and turning 176 for 1 into 198 for 5. Amir Jangoo’s brisk 58 off 43 lifted the total to 295, though it proved too little.
The chase belonged to two batters. Shubman Gill, leading the side, reached his 10th ODI hundred in only 67 innings, the third quickest ever. His approach was calm and economical, and he even survived a chance at short point on 11. Virat Kohli, meanwhile, played on another level. He crossed 15000 ODI runs, collected his 55th ODI century and matched Sachin Tendulkar’s tally of 60 List A hundreds. Nine sixes marked his highest count in a single ODI innings, and he took 53 off 26 balls against Alzarri Joseph alone.
India got home in 41.4 overs, without Jasprit Bumrah, who is on Asian Games duty, and without Mohammed Siraj. Kohli now stands at 86 international hundreds, which naturally raises the question of whether 100 is within reach.
The result was a welcome boost for a format struggling for relevance, especially as West Indies have cancelled their domestic List A competition amid financial trouble.
