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Team India are currently gearing up for the white-ball series against West Indies, which will begin with the first ODI in Ahmedabad on February 6. The hosts’ preparations have been hit with COVID-19 cases emerging in the camp. Shikhar Dhawan, Shreyas Iyer and Ruturaj Gaikwad have tested positive and are in isolation, while Mayank Agarwal and Ishan Kishan have been added to the squad.
West Indies will go into the one-dayers having defeated England 3-2 in a closely-contested T20I series at home. If we look at the head-to-head record between India and the Windies, the Men in Blue have won 64 ODIs while the Caribbean side have been victorious in 63. In India as well, the win-loss ratio is pretty similar. India have won 29 of 58 games and West Indies 28.
Top ODI batting performances by Men in Blue against West Indies in India
As India and West Indies gear up to face each other in the ODI series, we look back at five wonderful batting efforts by the Men in Blue against the Windies at home.
#5 Shikhar Dhawan (119) - Kanpur, November 2013
Opener Shikhar Dhawan scored a fluent 119 off 95 balls as India chased down 264 in an ODI against West Indies in Kanpur in November 2013. The hosts won the toss and fielded first in the third ODI of the five-match series. The Indian bowlers did a good job to restrict the Windies to 263 for 5 despite 70s from Kieran Powell and Marlon Samuels.
Dhawan then anchored the chase as the Men in Blue got home by five wickets with 23 balls to spare. He struck 20 fours in his knock as the West Indies bowlers failed to build any sort of pressure on the left-hander. He raced away with a flurry of boundaries, hitting Jason Holder for three fours in the second over and two more in his next.
Even as India lost a couple of wickets. Dhawan brought up a defiant half-century off 43 balls. He kept piercing the gaps to find the boundaries, and as a result the run rate was never an issue. The southpaw reached a well-deserved century by edging Sunil Narine past slip for another four. He fell to Dwayne Bravo for 119, but had put India on the path to victory.
#4 Rahul Dravid (109*) - Ahmedabad, November 2002
Current Team India coach Rahul Dravid anchored a 325-run chase in Ahmedabad in November 2002 as the hosts registered a thrilling five-wicket win over West Indies. The visitors posted 324 for 4 as Chris Gayle slammed 140 and Ramnaresh Sarwan 99*. Dravid, however, remained unbeaten on 109 from 124 balls, hitting eight fours, as India pulled off a memorable triumph. It was a typical Dravid knock as he occupied the crease for 201 minutes and wore down the opponents.
After India lost Virender Sehwag (4) and Sourav Ganguly (28) without too many on the board, Dravid and VVS Laxman (66) steadied the ship with a 103-run stand for the third wicket. Even as Laxman came in and started finding the boundaries, Dravid was content playing second fiddle. He reached a patient fifty off 73 balls. With Laxman getting run out at the other end, Dravid needed to stay till the end and he did.
"The Wall" then found an unexpected partner in Sanjay Bangar (57*) as the duo lifted the Men in Blue home in 47.4 overs. He reached a hard-fought hundred off 119 balls with a couple off Carl Hooper. Bangar hit some key boundaries to ensure Dravid’s knock did not go in vain.
#3 Virat Kohli (157*) - Visakhapatnam, October 2018
Captain Virat Kohli led the front, scoring a scintillating 157* off 129 balls in Visakhapatnam in October 2018 in a tied one-dayer. Batting first after winning the toss in the second match of the five-game series, India put up an impressive 321 for 6, courtesy of Kohli’s excellent hundred. He hit 13 fours and four sixes in a dominant knock.
After the hosts lost a couple of early wickets, the captain consolidated and brought up a patient fifty off 56 balls. During the innings, he also broke Sachin Tendulkar’s record to become the fastest man to score 10,000 ODI runs. Kohli reached his second hundred in as many games by creaming Marlon Samuels over cover for four.
He then smacked Obed McCoy for two sixes in an over and picked up two fours and as many maximums off Kemar Roach’s last two overs. Kohli’s brilliance was, however, matched by Shai Hope (123*) and Shimron Hetmyer (94) as West Indies tied the contest.
#2 Rohit Sharma (152*) - Guwahati, October 2018
Rohit Sharma scored a brilliant 152* off 117 balls as India chased 323 against the Windies in Guwahati in October 2018 with eight wickets in hand and 47 balls to spare. Fielding first after winning the toss, India’s bowlers allowed the visitors to post 322 for 8 as Shimron Hetmyer cracked 106 off 78. However, Rohit’s special effort outshone Hetmyer’s knock.
The Indian opener struck 15 fours and eight sixes in his innings as India gunned down the target in 42.1 overs. He was patient at the start even as Kohli went on the attack. Rohit opened up by whacking Devendra Bishoo for consecutive sixes in the 21st over. Having gained momentum, the opener eased to an 84-ball hundred by driving Ashley Nurse past cover for a boundary.
After Kohli’s dismissal for 140, Rohit stayed until the end and took India over the line. He hammered Oshane Thomas for three consecutive fours in the 42nd over. He finished off the match in style, lofting left-arm spinner Chandrapaul Hemraj for a six and also bringing up his 150 in the process.
#1 Virender Sehwag (219) - Indore, December 2011
Leading the team, the swashbuckling Virender Sehwag hammered 219 off only 149 balls in Indore in December 2011. The hosts batted first after winning the toss and Sehwag went berserk. He slammed 25 fours and seven sixes as India registered their highest ODI total of 418 for 5.
The right-hander reached his fifty off 41 balls by swinging Sunil Narine for a maximum over long-on. He kept attacking the West Indies bowlers and raced to a century off 69 balls. There was no respite for the visitors as Sehwag attacked everyone from Narine to Marlon Samuels and Ravi Rampaul.
He became the second man to reach a double-century in ODIs in the 44th over when he cut Andre Russell past point for a boundary. Incidentally, Rohit was the batter at the other end when Sehwag completed his double hundred. The former would go on to slam a record three double hundreds in ODIs. Sehwag’s innings ended when he miscued Kieron Pollard to long-off.
Chasing an improbable 419, West Indies were all out for 265 as Denesh Ramdin top-scored with 96. Ravindra Jadeja and debutant Rahul Sharma claimed three wickets each.
