India Overpower West Indies To Take Series Lead

India Overpower West Indies To Take Series Lead

Indian opener Shikhar Dhawan scored his maiden ODI half-century as his team went 1-0 up in the series

©REUTERS/Rogan Ward (SOUTH AFRICA - Tags: SPORT CRICKET) Picture Supplied by Action Images

India 217-6 (Sharma 68no, Dhawan 51) beat
West Indies 214-9 (Sarwan 56) by four wickets
First One-Day International, Trinidad
Scorecard

Half-centuries from Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma guided India to a four-wicket win over the West Indies in the first One-Day International in Trinidad.

Just as they did in the Twenty20 International, the West Indian batsmen struggled on a slow pitch and they posted 214 for nine before India reached their target with more than five overs to spare.

The home side won the toss and chose to bat first but were quickly in trouble, losing Lendl Simmons (6), Kirk Edwards (21) and Darren Bravo (4).

Half-centuries from Ramnaresh Sarwan and Marlon Samuels revived the innings but they were unable to push on or accelerate, falling for 56 and 55 respectively.

Dwayne Bravo hit out towards the end with 22 in 20 balls but India's bowlers kept on top of the game with regular wickets, Harbhajan Singh leading the way with three for 32 as Praveen Kumar, Munaf Patel and captain Suresh Raina grabbed two victims apiece.

Similarly, India made a poor start  to their innings when Parthiv Patel was run out for 13, Virat Kohli was caught behind for two and Subramanian Badrinath was caught behind off Devendra Bishoo for 17.

Dhawan then reached his maiden half-century with some deft  touches and a thumping blow over long-on for six but he failed to kick on having reached his milestone when he was caught by Simmons off Anthony Martin.

Sharma then took on the lead role with an unbeaten 68 in 75 balls, aided by a neat innings of 43 in 50 balls by Raina, to take India to the brink.

Raina and Yusuf Pathan (10) lost their wickets before Harbhajan won the match with a six.

The second game in the series is also in Trinidad on 8th June.

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