West Indies on Sunday thrashed India by eight wickets in the first ODI of the three-match series at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, courtesy Shimron Hetmyer’s career-best 139 and Shai Hope’s unbeaten 102. Hetmyer was declared the Player of the match.
Chasing a tight total of 288 on a sluggish wicket, 22-year old Hetmyer made the match a one-sided affair with 11 fours and seven half dozens. Meanwhile, wicketkeeper-batsman Hope gave the southpaw excellent company with a patient 102 off 151 balls and guided the team home with 8 wickets in hand and 13 balls to spare.
The duo stitched 218 runs for the second wicket after Windies lost Sunil Ambris (9) early on the ball of Deepak Chahar.
Earlier, skipper Kieron Pollard had won the toss and invited India to bat first. Shreyas Iyer and Rishabh Pant hit crucial fifties as India’s middle order came to the fore to post 287 for 8 in 50 overs after the Men in Blue were reduced to 80 for 3.
Iyer struck five boundaries and a six, whereas Pant hit seven boundaries and a half-dozen. The duo shared a 114-run partnership for the fourth wicket to help India recover from the top-order collapse and post a challenging total.
This was Iyer’s third successive fifty while Pant struck his maiden half-century.
The two teams meet next at Visakhapatnam for the second ODI on Wednesday.
Brief scores: India 287/8 in 50 overs (Rishabh Pant 71, Shreyas Iyer 70, Kedar Jadhav 40; Sheldon Cottrell 2/46, Keemo Paul 2/40, Alzarri Joseph 2/45); West Indies 291/2 in 47.5 overs (Shimron Hetmyer 139, Shai Hope 102 not out)