1st T20I: India beat West Indies by 68 runs

India beat West Indies by 68 runs in the opening T20 International here on Friday. Invited to bat, India posted 190 for 6 with skipper Rohit Sharma top-scoring with 64 off 44 balls. Dinesh Karthik managed a quickfire 19-ball 41. For West Indies, Alazarri Joseph had best figures of 2 for 46 while left-arm spinner Akeal Hosein was the most economical, giving away only 14 runs in 4 overs with a wicket in his kitty. India scored 45 runs in their last three overs. The visiting side then restricted West Indies to 122 for 8 in 20 overs with Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravi Bishnoi and Arshdeep Singh taking two wickets apiece. For West Indies, Shamarh Brooks top-scored with 20.Rohit Sharma, Indian skipper, said, We knew it’s gonna be slightly tough, the shot-making wasn’t easy at the start. The guys who are set need to carry on for longer and the way we finished off the first innings was a great effort. When we finished the first 10 overs, we didn’t think we could get to 190. It was a great effort from the boys and great finish. There are three facets of the game which we are trying to improve. We gotta try and back the ideas about executing it with the bat. We want to try certain things and all in all I thought it was a great effort. Certain pitches will not allow you to do that and we need to assess how we go about. It is all about backing your skills and strengths. I love playing here in West Indies. Indian team always receives great support from the Indian crowd coming in from the USA and also the local crowd here, quite superb to get such support.
Dinesh Karthik, Player of the Match, said, ‘ It was sticky, not an easy wicket to bat on. It’s a very interesting role, you need the backing from the coach and the captain and that really helped. Important to assess the wicket and what kind of shots you need to play, and that comes with practice.’