India secured an eight-wicket win over the West Indies in the first ODI at the Greenfield International Stadium in Trivandrum on Sunday, September 27.
Shifting our focus to the details of the first ODI, West Indies batted first, and they posted a daunting total of 295/7 in 50 overs. Justin Greaves (101), John Campbell (62) and Amir Jangoo (58*) were the top scorers. Kuldeep Yadav picked up a four-fer.
In the chase, India sealed the deal in 41.4 overs with eight wickets in hand. Virat Kohli (139*) and Shubman Gill (110) were the top scorers in the second innings. On that note, let’s take a look at who said what after INDvWI, 1st ODI.
Shai Hope, West Indies captain:
[On whether West Indies could have done anything differently with the bat] Yeah, for sure. We could definitely put more runs on the board. You know, when you come in on surfaces such as good surfaces here in India, you got to make sure you put a good score on the board. Maybe 60 to 80 runs short, to be fair. But yeah, then in the way you’re bowling, when you’re trying to defend a target, close to 290, I think you gotta make sure everything goes right for you. [On whether the middle overs were the issue given they were going at more than seven an over at one point] Yeah, that’s it. When you got a platform like that, I thought the guys started really well. It’s something that we were trying to improve on a lot for the last couple of series, the opening pair. And must commend the guys for the start they gave us. They laid a very good foundation, but then we got stuck there in the middle and then it made it a lot more difficult for us in the back end to get a competitive total. [On what West Indies can take from the match] Well again, we just got to grasp those key moments. Like I said, if we gotten a bit more runs, you never know, it could have changed the context to the game. And also we had a couple of chances when we fielded, so we never know what could happen there with that 290 score. You always got to believe that whatever runs you got on the board, you can defend it. But we always know that there’s a lot more runs you can get in on these type of conditions. But yeah, you just got to take all the learnings from it and find ways to improve as a team. [On the successful opening partnership and whether Greaves is okay after being unable to finish the game] Hopefully. Yeah, we’ve got to see now what’s going on, but it’s unfortunate he couldn’t finish the game for us today. [On the remaining two ODIs and his record of scoring runs in India] Yes, for sure, I need some.
Kuldeep Yadav, Player of the Match:
[On what he enjoyed most] I actually loved the batting from Shubman and Virat bhai, it was a special inning from them. It feels awkward to receive the Man of the Match award seeing the way Virat batted, it was an outstanding inning. [On what he personally enjoyed most about his bowling] I think personally I like my rhythm, to be very honest. I was very calm in my rhythm and just trying to bowl whatever I felt like bowling, just varying the pace, variations were superb, just reading the batters, where they’re going to hit me, and yeah, I bowled very, very, very good in rhythm. [On what this performance means after periods of being in and out of the side] It always feels nice when you enjoy your bowling and that’s where you achieve your best, and when you are enjoying your bowling, when you are a bit relaxed as well, and then your performance comes at peak. So, sometimes it feels to get that confidence back, you have to have a bowling spell like this, definitely, you grow your confidence. I still believe there’s a lot to improve as a spinner and I believe the rhythm, it’s all about your flow, bowling flow, and when you are comfortable and when you are in good flow, then everything looks so good. I personally feel there’s still a chance to improve, and I’m going to stick with the same rhythm, that’s the most important thing. Even I play any format, it’s just you feel comfortable in your rhythm and in your flow.
Shubman Gill, India captain:
When I got out, I thought I should have finished it. But, it was a very satisfied innings. Probably the drive off the front foot (vs Alzarri) was my favourite. (On Kuldeep) Someone like him, if he’s bowling, he’s a wicket-taker. We were on the back foot, he got us back in the game and got us crucial wickets. (On Kohli’s batting) He’s batting superbly, he’s enjoying the game a lot more. He’s playing with freedom. He always has the game to clear the boundary. He’s won so many matches for the country, you want him to play however he wants to. We would want an 8th batting option who can contribute 25-odd runs. We are open to trying different combinations.
