ODI: Team India defeats WI

India secured a resounding five-wicket win over the West Indies in the opening One Day International (ODI) of the three-match series at Kensington Oval in Barbados on Thursday. Opting to field first, India’s spin duo, Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav orchestrated the downfall of the West Indies batting line-up, bundling them out for a paltry 114 runs in just 23 overs. Kuldeep Yadav, Player of the Match, said, ‘ Perfect, the fast bowlers bowled really well with Mukesh, Shardul and Hardik. Me and Jaddu were brilliant, we hit the right lengths which is what was necessary on this wicket. I’m just focusing on my rhythm, hitting the right lengths and it has been very nice. I thought it will be a seaming paradise, we are happy we got 7 wickets from our side. It was spinning a bit, and there was bounce as well. It’s always good to have competition, we just try to work together. When you have a senior like Chahal, it helps you and he gives a lot of advice as well. We enjoy each other’s company.’ Shai Hope, West Indies captain, said, Not too many words come to mind. We didn’t play the way we needed to, we need to find ways to score on difficult pitches like this. I’m not making excuses but anyone watching cricket can see what is happening here. (On Jayden Seales) He is a quality player, somebody we can invest in and I hope he grows from strength to strength. The Indian bowlers did well on this surface, but we didn’t bat well. Rohit Sharma, India captain, said, I never thought the pitch would play like that, it was the team’s need to bowl first and have a score. The pitch had everything for the seamers and spinners, our guys did well to restrict them to that score. We wanted to give game time to the ODI guys who have come in, we will keep trying those things whenever possible. To restrict them to 115, we knew we could try these guys and give them a go. I don’t think they’ll get many chances like this. I made my debut for India and