India Vs West Indies 1st ODI Highlights: Kohli, Rohit help India crush WI

Kohli scored his 36th ODI century while Rohit Sharma smashed his 20th ODI century.

They came, They saw, they scored centuries. If today's match description was to be squeezed into a small pararaph, this is how it would look.

Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma left no area on the field whre they did not score runs. It was raining runs and West Indies bowlers unfortunately had no cover. The just saw the ball clear the fence, race past them for boundaries and all they could do was witness the spectacle that both the batsmen put.

Kohli scored his 36th ODI century while Rohit Sharma smashed his 20th ODI century.

India crushed West Indies by 8 wickets, chasing a huge target of 323 runs with 47 balls to spare. With this, India lead 1-0 in the 5-match ODI series.

India cptain Virat Kohli was adjudged man of the match for his prolific 140 runs in 107 balls including 21 fours and 2 sixes.

Kohli also completed his 2000 plus runs in third successive year and is 81 runs away from his 10,000 runs.

Rohit Sharma scored 152 off 117 balls including 15 fours and 8 sixes, but his innings was mostly eclipsed by Virat Kohli's rampage, who showed no mercy right from the start and punished West Indies bowlers left, right adnd centre.

Earlier, West Indies did not have a good start with three of their batsmen back into the pavilion without contributing much including senior most player in the side Marlon Samuels who was out for a duck. But their innings caught momentum after being catalysed by Keiron Powell who scored half century and then it all revolved around Hetmyer who went on to score his 9th ODI century.

Others who came to bat did cameos but West Indies put up a 300-plus total largely because of Hetmyer's brilliant knock and a much needed one on the day.

For India, Umesh Yadav and Khaleel Ahmed picked 3 wickets each, conceding 64 runs each in their 10 overs and Mohammed Shami had a tough day as he splurged 81 runs in his 10 overs picking 2 wickets.

For West Indies, Devender Bishoo picked 2 wickets and Oshane Thomas was the other successful bowler, picking a wicket for 83 runs in 9 overs.

Ashley Nurse, who made his debut today, lacked the sharpness as he conceded 63 runs in 7 overs.(more)

It's a good to have contagious winning habit: Virat Kohli

It's a good to have contagious winning habit: Virat Kohli

Winning is "contagious" and Indian Test captain Virat Kohli feels that it is a "good habit" that his boys can create in order to become a formidable Test team anywhere in the world.

India trounced West Indies by an innings and 92 runs well inside four days in the first cricket Test of the four-match series.

"We want to create winning habits, good habits. And you know, winning is contagious. If we learn to win Test matches, then we'll learn how to win Tests everywhere. We will learn how to play in different situations and we will know exactly what to do when a certain situation is going a certain way," Kohli told mediapersons after a thumping victory against the hosts.

"We want to be consistent side, we need to set ourselves goals and look to execute that rather than looking at the opposition which I think this team is willing to do," said Kohli after the win.

"That for me is a very pleasing thing as a captain and for the team as well. Everyone understands the way we want to play on the field - where we need to bat, how we need to bowl, etc. We need to be comfortable with what the team requires and I think that's the most important for this team going forward."
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World T20: Dhoni's men face unpredictable West Indies

So often, big matches in big tournaments become restricted to a hyped confrontation between two marquee players.
In the second semi-final of the ICC World T20 in Mumbaithis evening, that contest will invariably be played out between Chris Gayle and Virat Kohli — two run-scoring behemoths who bring with them the ability to astonish and enrapture, and the skill to sway the outcome of a grand occasion such as this in a way only they can.
But at the same time, it would be a wicked injustice to bill this match as a battle between Gayle and Kohli. In the din that accompanies this delectable clash between the two, it is easy to forget the other 20 players on show.
Both India and West Indies would do well to refrain from putting too much emphasis on one man. Such fixations come with the ghastly prospect of being outplayed by an unknown man on a day, which for some players, arrives once in their lifetime.

ICCWT20 :It is also easy for India to think that the West Indies will be a comfortable swim, while they ride the “momentum” wave. Three wins on the spin after the crushing loss to New Zealand in the tournament opener — the assumption that this momentum will help them barge past the West Indies can so easily end in tragedy. The West Indies’ charge to the semi-final was punctuated by a shock loss against Afghanistan in their last group game in Nagpurthis past Sunday.

India’s T20 form is a mere extension of the way they’ve been playing in Tests and ODIs. For the West Indies, the T20 format, in a lot of ways, makes up for the woeful run of results they’ve endured in the other two formats of the game over the last couple of years. Here, the West Indies confront a team that is devoid of any T20 specialists, and yet, is the best in the world. This will be an enormous test of the West Indies T20 pedigree.

For the home side, Mahendra Singh Dhoni must have spent the last few days trying to spur his batsmen on, who, with the exception of Kohli, have done very little to cover themselves in glory. The fact that Kohli has more runs in this tournament than the other four members of India's top five combined is a distressing confirmation.

With Yuvraj Singh getting ruled out due to an ankle injury, common sense would point towards a place for Ajinkya Rahane. But Rahane was originally slated to be a replacement for one of the openers, and Dhoni might be reluctant to slot him into the middle order. Which means that Pawan Negi, the only like-for-like replacement for Yuvraj, might get to play in the biggest match of his career so far.

The absence of Sunil Narine means that West Indies skipper Darren Sammy doesn’t have at a go-to bowler at his disposal. But he must take heart from the way his bowlers have performed throughout the tournament. Andre Russell and Carlos Brathwaite have been steady with the new ball, and the two spinners — Samuel Badree and Suliemann Benn — have been a revelation. On aWankhedepitch that promises big runs, the way the slower bowlers go will be pivotal.

The Indian bowling, so often the team’s cause of misery in tough situations, has been a remarkable success so far. Ashish Nehra has added much-needed experience upfront, and in Jasprit Bumrah, Dhoni has finally found a reliable death bowler. Hardik Pandya, although a tad expensive, has been among the wickets, and the slow bowlers have not allowed any team to get away. Encouraging signs, one would imagine. A rampaging Gayle can change all that. Ravichandran Ashwin has so often been Gayle’s bogey man in the past and one can expect Dhoni to unleash his most potent weapon on the enemy’s most prized asset yet again. Even if Gayle goes early, Johnson Charles and Marlon Samuels are two dangerous batsmen who can give India a tough time.

Given their tremendous depth in batting, it is no secret that the West Indies like to chase. But so do India. The Wankhede track is likely to remain the same throughout the 40 overs. So, expect the captain who wins the toss to put the opposition in.

For a team that had little hope of getting out of its group after being hammered by the Kiwis, India now stand two steps away from a second World T20 title. But in the West Indies, they face an intrepid and unpredictable side; one that amazes and disappoints in equal measure. More than ability, this will be a test of nerve and experience. The warning shots have been fired. An alluring contest is upon us.