India vs West Indies 2022: Hits and Flops as Men in Blue win 1st ODI by 6 wickets

Team India successfully chased down a total of 176 runs to win the series' first ODI against West Indies at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. The hosts outshone the Caribbean unit in every department to register a convincing victory in their 1000th one-day international.

After asking West Indies to bat first after winning the toss, the Indian bowlers backed captain Rohit Sharma's decision with their performances. With the new ball, the pacers set the tone for India before Washington Sundar chipped in with crucial wickets. Yuzvendra Chahal then spun a web in the middle overs to bowl West Indies out for 176.

During the chase, skipper Rohit and Ishan Kishan got their side off to an excellent start and ensured there were no early hiccups for the hosts. The middle-order went through a bit of a shaky phase. However, Deepak Hooda and Suryakumar Yadav got the team over the finish line in the 28th over.

On that note, let's take a look at some hits and flops from the match.

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#5 Hit - Washington Sundar (India)

Washington Sundar took 3 wickets against West Indies.

Washington Sundar, who made a welcome return to the ODI side, set the tone to break the back of West Indies' innings. The Chennai-born all-rounder, who isn't known for turning the ball, kept things tight and troubled the hard-hitting Caribbean batters.

Darren Bravo had no answers to Sundar's whirling off-spin deliveries before he got Brandon King to chip a slower ball to mid-wicket. Four balls later, Bravo was beaten by a rather straight ball from Sundar and was rapped on the pads.

His next wicket perhaps came at a much-needed juncture for India as he broke the dangerous-looking partnership of Jason Holder and Fabian Allen. Sundar completed his three-wicket haul with a simple return catch off his own bowling from the latter. All in all, it was a great day at the office for the 22-year old.

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#4 Flop - Kemar Roach (West Indies)

Australia v West Indies – One Day International

Kemar Roach was called up to the West Indies one-day squad for the first time in nearly two-and-a-half years. Prior to the game, the experienced pacer had taken 24 ODI wickets in 21 innings against the Men in Blue.

Skipper Keiron Pollard handed the new ball to Roach, who started the proceedings with two consecutive wide deliveries before Rohit flicked a freebie to a four. In his next three overs, the runs kept flowing from both ends.

However, during Roach's fifth over, Rohit took the right-armer on and dispatched him for two boundaries and a six inside five balls. The 15-run over proved to be the last one for Roach.

While his fellow pacer Alzarri Joseph looked lethal and sprung some life into the game, the Barbados-born bowler didn't look threatening at all. Roach finished the game with figures of 5-0-41-0.

#3 Hit - Rohit Sharma (India)

Rohit Sharma playing a lofted shot during the 1st ODI vs West Indies [P.C: BCCI].

Rohit Sharma couldn't have asked for a better start to his ODI captaincy. He won the toss, with his bowlers going on to vindicate his decision. Almost every bowling and fielding tweak he made was spot on as well. Moreover, he took even took three successful DRS calls.

With the bat, the Mumbai batter looked as elegant as ever, smashing a 51-ball knock of 60 runs. It was Sharma's innings, which included ten boundaries and a six, that set the tone for India's chase.

Returning to action after recovering from a hamstring injury, the skipper showed no signs of rustiness and clobbered the opposition bowlers to all parts of the ground. Sharma stitched a pivotal partnership of 84 runs along with former Mumbai Indians batter Ishan Kishan.

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#2 Flop - Virat Kohli (India)

Virat Kohli lost his wicket cheaply.

Virat Kohli's inconsistent batting patch continued in Ahmedabad today as he was dismissed cheaply. The former Indian skipper's stay at the crease lasted just four balls.

Coming to bat following Rohit's dismissal, Kohli edged the very first ball off Joseph which fortunately found its way to a boundary. However, the Delhi-born batter looked more commanding on the next delivery. He played an upper-cut and almost got a maximum. What was even more surprising to see was that Kohli didn't bother to smash it along the ground.

The pacer replied immediately with a searing bumper. On the very next ball, Joseph bowled another bouncer and Kohli was unable to control his pull shot. The veteran batter end up top-edging the ball, which went straight to Roach at fine leg. Joseph troubled Kohli with short balls throughout and got his man.

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#1 Hit - Yuzvendra Chahal (India)

Yuzvendra Chahal picked up three crucial wickets.

Along with Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal was the chief architect of the Indian win. The leg-spinner used his guile and spun a web around the visiting batters. On a rather slow surface, Chahal bowled with a flight and tempted the batters to make a mistake.

It took just three balls for Chahal to unfurl his bag of variations. He took out Nicholas Pooran to claim his 100th ODI wicket before outfoxing Pollard. He found a big gap between Pollard's bat and pad before rattling his bat.

The 31-year-old then produced an outside edge off Shamarh Brook's willow while bowling a sharp leg-break. Chahal completed his four-fer on the second-last delivery of his spell. The Haryana-born spinner enticed Joseph, who failed in his quest to clear the boundary. The Windies batter mistimed the ball and handed an easy catch at long-on.

Chahal ended the innings with impressive figures of 9.5-0-49-4. Prior to the game, Chahal was under some amount of pressure but repaid his captain's faith convincingly. For his match-winning spell, Chahal was even adjudged as the Man of the Match.