5 unnoticed things from India’s scintillating victory over West Indies in the first ODI

India started the five-match ODI series with an emphatic win against West Indies in Guwahati. West Indies batted first and scored 322 for 8 in their allotted 50 overs, a total which looked competitive at the start of the Indian innings. Shimron Hetmyer was the top scorer with 106 of 78 balls. From India, Yuzvendra Chahal got three wickets and was also the most economical bowler.

The first innings was an end to the West Indian celebration though, as Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli ensured that the target of 323 doesn’t bother the Indian batting line-up. Virat and Rohit stitched together a 246-run partnership which was enough to break the West Indian hopes.

Virat Kohli conveyed his role in the team in a post-match interview where he said that his role was that of an anchor as Rohit and Shikhar are better stroke makers, but as Shikhar was out early in the innings, he had to be aggressive as the required run rate was over six. Here are the unnoticed things from the game.

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#1 Shimron Hetmyer’s all three ODI centuries have taken less than 85 balls

Shimron Hetmyer walked in with Windies struggling at 86/3 in the first ODI against India in Guwahati. A brisk century helped his team score 322/5. He scored the century in 74 balls with the help of six boundaries and six sixes.

This was also Hetmyer’s third century in ODIs and he has taken only 13 innings to do so, thus becoming the fastest West Indian to reach there. Even the great Sir Viv Richards took 16 innings.

Hetmyer also became the youngest West Indian to score an ODI ton in Indian overtaking Carl Hooper and Marlon Samuels.

An unnoticed fact is that Hetmyer has scored all his three centuries in less than 85 balls. His previous century scores of 127 against Zimbabwe and 126 against Bangladesh were also brisk and were scored in under 85 balls.

#2 Marlon Samuels becomes third West Indian to score a duck in his 200th ODI

Marlon Samuels was playing his 200th ODI today and he is by far the most experienced West Indian in the current squad. Though, the occasion was not celebration-worthy for him as he was out for zero. He was trapped in front by Yuzvendra Chahal.

Samuels had never scored a duck against India and thus became the 3rd West Indian to score a duck in his 200th ODI match. The previous West Indians to do so are Courtney Walsh and Brian Lara.

Samuels has scored some memorable innings in India. His century in Vijayawada in the 2002 ODI series was a great example of his abilities as a stroke maker.

Walsh was anyways known for the number of ducks he scored in international cricket, but there are some batting greats like Brian Lara and Adam Gilchrist in the list who made zero in their two hundredth game.

Other players who have this unlucky record are R Mahanama, C Cairns, Abdul Razzaq, Harbhajan Singh, and Shoaib Malik.

#3 Chahal’s last 6 ODI wickets have been either bowled or LBW

Yuzvendra Chahal was by far the best Indian bowler on display today. He was not bothered by the flat track and the power hitting shown by some West Indian batsmen. He kept it simple and justified his selection over Kuldeep Yadav.

Chahal got rid of Samuels, Holder, and Nurse. Samuels and Holder are the most important players for West Indies and getting them out cheaply meant Chahal did a great help to the Indian batsmen, who then had to chase 323 and not a target above 340.

Chahal, in fact, got all three wickets without the help of any fielders. That shows how accurate his bowling is. In doing so, he extended the number of wickets to 6 where he has not taken help of any fielders in getting a wicket.

Chahal’s last 6 ODI wickets have been: LBW, Bowled, LBW, LBW, LBW, and Bowled

#4 11th 150-plus partnership between Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli in ODIs

Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli stitched together a partnership of 246 runs in 30 overs to take the match completely away from the hands of the West Indies.

The form of the Indian top 3 batsmen is not hidden from anyone where most of the times two out of the top three batsmen score heavily and take India to a winning position.

Virat and Rohit are just one big partnership away from equaling Sachin and Sourav’s 12 150-plus partnerships. Given the type of attack they are facing in this series, it won’t be surprising if they equal the record in this series itself.

The Indian captain and his deputy enjoy a great working relationship and they are great friends too.

Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly still hold the record with 12 150 plus partnerships and number three on the list is seven by Dilshan and Sangakkara.

#5 Kohli equals Sachin’s record of most 2000 plus runs in a calendar year

Sachin Tendulkar had scored 2000 plus International runs in 5 calendar years and Virat Kohli equalled the record for India today by scoring 2000 plus runs in a calendar year for the fifth time during his innings of 140 today.

Kumar Sangakkara achieved the feat 6 times in his international career, while for India Sachin Tendulkar did it five times and Sourav Ganguly did it four times. Sachin was unstoppable in the late 90s and had also achieved the feat of scoring 2000 plus international runs in three consecutive years.

Sachin Tendulkar and Mahela Jayawardene had five instances of each scoring 2000 plus international runs in a calendar year.

Also, Virat Kohli became the 4th batsmen in history to score 2000 plus international runs in three consecutive calendar years. Joe Root, who off late has withered away from competing with the likes of Kohli and Smith for batting greatness, had a splendid three year period from 2015 to 2017 where he scored truckloads of runs.

Sachin Tendulkar had also achieved the feat for India between 1996 and 1998.