Virat Kohli smashed an unbeaten 139 and captain Shubman Gill struck 110 as India crushed the West Indies by eight wickets in the first ODI at the Greenfield International Stadium on Sunday to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.
After the West Indies posted 295/7, Kuldeep Yadav led India’s bowling attack with a four-wicket haul and controlled the scoring during the middle overs.
Rohit Sharma and Gill then gave India a flying start with a 74-run opening stand before Gill and Kohli took control with a 151-run partnership. Gill left the field to a standing ovation after scoring 110 off 108 balls, his 10th ODI century, which included 13 fours and a six.
Kohli, who became only the second batter after Sachin Tendulkar to reach 15,000 ODI runs during the innings, smashed an unbeaten 139 off 88 balls, hitting 10 fours and nine sixes. He hit more sixes in the innings than ever before in his ODI career. The knock marked his 55th ODI century and 10th against the West Indies, as India chased down the target with 50 balls to spare.
Rohit set the tone for the chase by driving the first ball from Jayden Seales through the boundary for four. Gill survived a chance at 11 when the West Indies dropped him at cover-point, while the visitors also wasted a review on an lbw appeal against Rohit. The Indian opener responded by slashing the next delivery over sweeper cover for six.
Gill hammered Alzarri Joseph for three fours in the eighth over before lifting Gudakesh Motie over cover for six. Rohit then pulled Motie for his third six as India reached 70/0 at the end of the powerplay.
Joseph finally broke the opening partnership in the 12th over after moving the deep-square-leg fielder slightly straighter. Rohit miscued a whip straight to the fielder and departed for 32. Joseph dismissed Rohit for the fourth time in ODIs.
Kohli opened his account with a top-edged pull over the wicketkeeper for six. Gill brought up his half-century from 49 balls as dew began to settle. With Justin Greaves off the field because of a shin problem, West Indies captain Shai Hope had only five frontline bowlers available.
Kohli reached his fifty from 40 balls before smashing Joseph for three consecutive fours in the 29th over. The second boundary took Kohli past 15,000 ODI runs and made him the fastest men’s batter to reach the landmark, surpassing Tendulkar’s record. Gill completed his century with a drive off Seales at the start of the 31st over.
Kohli’s pulled six off Roston Chase in the 34th over brought up the 150-run partnership, but Gill fell three balls later while attempting a slog-sweep to deep midwicket. With Ruturaj Gaikwad unbeaten on 13, Kohli danced down the pitch and lofted Motie over long-on for six to complete his century from 74 balls. The knock became his third-fastest ODI hundred and his 60th century in List A cricket.
Keemo Paul dropped Kohli on 125, and the Indian star made the West Indies pay. He whipped Keacy Carty over deep backward square leg for six before sealing the victory with another six over fine leg.
Earlier, Justin Greaves struck a fluent 101 off 108 balls, while John Campbell and Amir Jangoo contributed half-centuries for the West Indies.
After India put them in to bat in stifling heat and humidity, the West Indies raced to 85/0 during the powerplay. India’s seamers struggled to maintain control, and Greaves attacked them aggressively, scoring 56 off 55 balls against the pacers, including 10 fours. India’s spinners restricted him to 44 runs from 53 balls.
Nitish Kumar Reddy conceded 18 runs in his first over as Greaves smashed four boundaries, including one off a no-ball and another from the resulting free hit. Gurnoor Brar nearly dismissed Greaves in the fourth over, but Rohit Sharma could only get his fingertips to the edge at wide slip.
Campbell immediately attacked Ravindra Jadeja when India introduced spin, hitting two sixes over long-on. Greaves then cut debutant Naman Dhir for four in the 14th over to reach his fifty and help West Indies record their first century opening partnership against India since 2019.
Kuldeep ended the 135-run opening stand in the 20th over when Campbell top-edged a sweep to short fine leg. Keacy Carty struggled for runs before Prasidh Krishna induced him into a lofted shot that landed with the mid-on fielder in the 31st over. Kuldeep then dismissed captain Shai Hope, who edged a delivery to backward point.
Greaves completed his maiden ODI century with a single through point but soon lost his wicket while attempting a sweep against Kuldeep’s googly. India’s review confirmed that the ball would have hit off stump.
Kuldeep struck again with the very next delivery when Jewel Andrew pressed forward against another googly and edged the ball to Rohit at slip for a golden duck.
Roston Chase and Amir Jangoo steadied the innings with a 50-run partnership before Prasidh bowled Chase for 24 in the 45th over. Jangoo, who had smashed three fours off Prasidh in the 43rd over, then hit Gurnoor for two consecutive fours and a six to complete his second ODI fifty from just 38 balls.
Nitish dismissed Matthew Forde in the final over, while Jangoo finished unbeaten on 58 off 43 balls. However, the West Indies fell five runs short of 300, leaving India with a manageable target that Gill and Kohli chased down comfortably.
Kohli also reached another major milestone during the innings, becoming only the second men’s batter after Tendulkar to score 15,000 ODI runs.
Kohli became the fastest batter to reach 10,000 ODI runs in 2018, achieving the milestone in 205 innings. He needed only 11 innings to progress from 9,000 to 10,000 runs. He also holds the record for reaching 8,000, 9,000, 11,000, 12,000, 13,000 and 14,000 ODI runs in the fewest innings.
Kohli had already surpassed one of Tendulkar’s most celebrated records when he scored his 50th ODI century during the 2023 Men’s ODI World Cup semi-final against New Zealand. He has now added another landmark to his career with his latest century.
Brief Scores:
West Indies 295/7 in 50 overs (Justin Greaves 101, John Campbell 62; Kuldeep Yadav 4-40, Prasidh Krishna 2-60)
India 300/2 in 41.4 overs (Virat Kohli 139 not out, Shubman Gill 110; Roston Chase 1-64, Alzarri Joseph 1-81)