Opener Rohit Sharma and skipper Virat Kohli scored blistering centuries to help India thrash the West Indies by eight wickets in the first ODI in Guwahati on Sunday.
India dominated with the bat through out the innings as Rohit remained unbeaten on 152 while Virat was dismissed for 140. On the other hand, West Indian bowlers struggled with the line and failed to take wickets.
Chasing a challenging score of 322, India lost Shikhar Dhawan with just 10 runs on the board. Dhawan (4) was clean bowled by Oshane Thomas in the second over of the innings.
But after that Rohit and Virat joined hands and hammered the West Indian bowlers all around the stadium. In the process, the duo completed their respective centuries.
- Virat Kohli's 140 at Guwahati was his 14th hundred as India's ODI captain. Only Ricky Ponting - who led Australia between 2002 and 2012 - has scored more hundreds than Virat Kohli; Ponting had scored 22 hundreds in the 230 ODIs he led Australia in.
- Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli were involved in a 246-run partnership for the 2nd wicket which would become India's highest partnership in ODIs against the Windies.
- Rohit Sharma's 152 not out would be the second-highest score by an Indian batsman in ODIs against the Windies; only Virender Sehwag has bettered that score - he scored 219 against the Windies at Indore in 2011.
- Rohit Sharma's 152 not out was his 6th score of 150 or more in ODIs; he now holds the record for the most 150-plus scores in ODIs.
- India chased down a target of 323 which would be their second-highest chase in ODIs against the Windies; only once previously had the Indian team chased more successfully - a target of 325 at Ahmedabad in 2002.
- Meanwhile, Rishabh Pant at 21 years & 17 days became the 224th player to represent India in ODIs.
Earlier, a brilliant century by Shimron Hetmyer (106) and some useful contributions from Devendra Bishoo and Kemar Roach towards the end helped West Indies post 322/8.
Hetmyer played 78 balls and slammed six boundaries and as many sixes before he was dismissed by Ravindra Jadeja in the 39th over. Hetmyer scored 79 of his 106 runs on the leg-side of the pitch.
- This was Hetmyer’s third ODI hundred and he took only 13 innings to get them. With this ton he overtook the great Sir Vivian Richards’ record who took 16 innings to get his first three ODI tons. Third on the list is Gordon Greenidge (27), followed by Phil Simmons (41 innings) and Brian Lara (45).
- Hetmyer’s effort of 106 with the bat was the fourth fastest hundred for Windies against India in ODIs
- The Windies' realised 74 runs and 60 runs respectively for the 5th and 6th wickets; it was only the second time in Windies' ODIs in India that they had realised 50 runs or more for the 5th and 6th wickets. The only previous match when such a thing had occurred in the past was in an ODI at Gwalior in 1988.
- The ninth wicket pair of Kemar Roach and Devendra Bishoo were involved in an unbeaten partnership of 44 runs which would become the Windies' best 9th wicket partnership in ODIs in India.
(Statistics by Arun Gopalakrishnan)
(With inputs from IANS)
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