The chase master Virat Kohli stood up and stole the show in Thiruvananthapuram. Virat Kohli dazzled under the lights at the Greenfield International. But before Virat stole the show, Justin Greaves scored a ton while John Campbell and Amir Jangoo scored half-centuries to help West Indies post a competitive 295/7 in 50 overs, with Kuldeep Yadav doing the star turn with his 4-wicket haul, finishing with 4/40 in 10 overs. He was the one who kept India in the contest.
In reply, the captain Shubman Gill scored a masterful 10th ODI ton while Virat Kohli dazzled his way to his 55th ODI ton and his 10th against the West Indies and passed 15,000 runs in ODI cricket. In the end, the duo were too good with Rohit scoring 32 and Gaikwad remaining unbeaten in the end as India won the contest by 8 wickets with more than 8 overs to spare.
Justin Greaves’ power-packed ton helps West Indies post a competitive 295/7 in 50 overs
Put into bat first, John Campbell and Justin Greaves came out to open the batting for West Indies while Prasidh Krishna had the ball in hand for India. After a quiet first over, West Indies were off and running as Nitish Kumar Reddy conceded 17 runs off his opening over. There was no looking back now as it was all West Indies courtesy of their openers, as the right-hand-left-hand combination combined well for West Indies. The openers took the attack to India.
The duo, with Greaves in particular, was the aggressor of the two. They dominated the powerplay and scored 85 runs in the first 10 overs. They carried that on in the middle phase and laid the base for the West Indies to score a humongous score. Both players helped the team post a 100-run partnership and went beyond. Both players completed their respective fifties and put on 135 for the first wicket inside 20 overs before Campbell fell for 62 off 60 balls with 6 fours and 3 sixes to his name, to Kuldeep Yadav, who provided a timely breakthrough for the Indians.
Keacy Carty came out to bat next. It was a struggle for Carty all along while Greaves tried to keep the momentum going for the visitors. India clawed their way back after the opening stand as Carty struggled out there. The duo added 41 runs for the second wicket before Carty fell for 13 off 31 balls to Prasidh Krishna. Captain and keeper-batter Shai Hope came out to bat next.
The duo of Greaves and Hope tried to forge a partnership and added 19 runs for the 3rd wicket before Hope fell for 12 off 11 balls with one four to his name to Kuldeep Yadav. Amir Jangoo came out to bat as Greaves completed his ton as well. The duo added 3 more runs to the tally before Greaves fell for 101 off 108 balls with 12 fours to his name to Kuldeep LBW thanks to a great usage of the DRS. Jewel Andrew came and went first ball for a golden duck as Kuldeep had two in two balls.
Roston Chase came out to bat next and survived the hat-trick ball. Chase, the vice-captain of the team, alongside Jangoo, forged a partnership to bring the Men in Maroon back on track. The duo added a crucial 52-run stand for the 6th wicket before Chase fell for 24 off 32 balls with 3 fours to his name to Krishna, who knocked him over. Matthew Forde came out to bat next with the score at 250/6 in 45 overs.
Jangoo provided the finishing kick that the West Indies desired while Forde was there at the other end. The duo added a handy 38 runs for the 7th wicket before Forde fell for 7 off 12 balls to Nitish Kumar Reddy. Gudakesh Motie came out to bat next with 5 balls left in the innings. The duo added 7 runs off the last 5 balls as Jangoo completed his half-century in quick time. West Indies finished with a competitive 295/7 in 50 overs. Jangoo was unbeaten on 58 off 43 balls with 7 fours and one six to his name while Motie was unbeaten on 4 off 4 balls. 14 extras given by the fielding side.
India came back well with the ball in the middle phase of the game. The star of the show was Kuldeep Yadav who finished with figures of 4/40 in 10 overs. Prasidh Krishna finished with 2/60 in 10 overs. Nitish Kumar Reddy chipped in with 1/45 in 5 overs. Gurnoor Brar finished with 0/60 in 10 overs. Ravindra Jadeja finished with 0/54 in 10 overs. Naman Dhir on debut finished with 0/33 in 5 overs. This meant that India’s target was 296 to win off 50 overs to take a 1-0 lead in the 3-match series.
Virat Kohli & Shubman Gill’s sublime tons power India past the finishing line by 8 wickets in 41.4 overs
Chasing a challenging 296 for the win, Rohit Sharma and captain Shubman Gill came out to open the batting for India while Jayden Seales had the ball in hand for West Indies. Rohit started in grand fashion while Gill followed him as well. Gill was batting on 11* when he was dropped at short point by substitute fielder Keemo Paul. Gill made West Indies pay for it. India, like West Indies, got off to a fast start in the powerplay. The duo took India to 70/0 after the first 10 overs.
But after the completion of the powerplay, Rohit was overhitting the ball, and that led to his downfall as he flicked a mistimed shot to the square leg fielder. The opening duo put on 74 for the first wicket before Rohit fell for 32 off 35 balls with 2 fours and 3 sixes to his name to Alzarri Joseph. That brought Virat Kohli to the crease. What followed after this was a batting masterclass.
The Prince and King combined as Kohli was relatively quickly off the blocks while Gill was at his best after the reprieve he got. The duo just made a mockery of the West Indies bowling as dew played a part, and the West Indies missed Justin Greaves with the ball because of an injury. Gill and Kohli were just too good and never broke a sweat against this West Indies bowling attack.
The duo of Gill and Kohli put on a match-winning stand and dominated the middle phase of the game. The duo put on 151 runs off 132 balls, with Gill scoring his 10th ODI ton. The duo took the score from 74 to 225, and with India needing 70 for the win, Gill fell for 110 off 108 balls with 13 fours and one six to his name to Roston Chase. Ruturaj Gaikwad came out to bat next.
Gaikwad did his best to stay there till the end and give the strike to Kohli. Kohli was at a different level as he raced away to his 55th ODI ton and past 15,000 runs in ODI cricket as well, the second player to achieve the feat. Kohli finished things off in style with consecutive sixes to his name as the duo added an unbeaten 75 runs off 46 balls with Kohli hitting the winning runs. Virat remained unbeaten on 139 off 88 balls with 10 fours and 9 sixes to his name, while Gaikwad was unbeaten on 13 off 19 balls as India got to 300/2 in 41.4 overs. 6 extras were given by the fielding side.
It was a hard night for the West Indies bowlers. Alzarri Joseph picked up 1/81 in 9 overs. Roston Chase finished with 1/64 in 10 overs. Jayden Seales finished with 0/32 in 7 overs. Matthew Forde finished with 0/39 in 5 overs. Gudakesh Motie finished with 0/66 in 10 overs. Keacy Carty gave away 17 runs in 4 balls. So, India thrash West Indies by 8 wickets to take a 1-0 lead in the 3-match ODI series. Kuldeep Yadav was awarded the Player of the Match Award.
What Lies Ahead
So, India lead the series 1-0 with two games to spare. The second game of the series will be in Guwahati on Wednesday, 30th September 2026 at 2 PM IST. India will want to seal the series in Guwahati while West Indies will be desperate for a fightback and levelling of the series. But can they do it? Find that out on Wednesday in Guwahati.
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