IND vs WI, 1st ODI: Iyer, Pant Fifties Guide India To 288/8

The hosts posted 288/8 on the board and West Indies need 289 runs to win

The solid 114-run stand between Shreyas Iyer and Rishabh Pant followed by some fine knocks from Kedar Jadhav and Ravindra Jadeja rescued the hosts on a slow Chepauk pitch that saw the Indian top-order collapse in the first ODI against West Indies on Sunday. The hosts posted 288/8 on the board and West Indies need 289 runs to win. Put to bat first, the Indians had a terrible start as the opening duo of KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma could put just 21 runs for the first wicket. Pacer Sheldon Cottrell drew the first blood as he removed Rahul in the seventh over off a back of a length delivery, reducing the men-in-blue to 21/1. Skipper Virat Kohli, who was adjudged the Man of the Series of the T20I series, failed to contribute much as he too was hunted down by Cottrell in the same over. It was slightly wide and the Indian skipper wanted to dab it to the third man. Unfortunately, he played it down the wrong line and inside-edged it back onto his stumps. Shreyas Iyer then joined vice-captain Rohit at the crease and the duo tried to bring the tottering Indian innings back on track. They batted for the next 11 overs and added 55 runs for the third wicket before Alzarri Joseph ended Rohit’s stint on 36. The pressure had just begun to engulf the men-in-blue but Rishabh Pant had different plans. After a series of failures with the bat, the young wicket-keeper batsman showed immense intent and played the role of a saviour. Learning from his previous mistakes, the left-hand batter not only backed Iyer from the other end, but he also notched up his maiden ODI half-century after 10 innings. Before Pant, Iyer brought up his 5^th ODI fifty which was also his fourth consecutive in the 50-over format. The duo stitched a 114-run partnership for the fifth wicket before Joseph struck again and took down Iyer (71) in the 37^th over. Soon Pant (71) also returned to the dressing room after losing his wicket in a usual fashion – trying to loft and ending up getting caught near the boundary line. His innings was laced with seven boundaries and maximum. As the half of the team’s batting strength was back to the pavilion, Kedar Jadhav and Ravindra Jadeja came into the frame and anchored the innings further. A handy 59-run stand was stitched by the pair before losing their wickets to Keemo Paul on two consecutive deliveries. Jadeja's run out was bizarre as South African umpire Shaun George asked for a third umpire for review only after replays showed the batsman was short of his crease. Debutant Shivam Dube was the last wicket India lost in the final over while Deepak Chahar (7) and Mohammed Shami (0) remained unbeaten.