Guyana: First ODI between India and West Indies was called off due to rain after 13 overs of play with the home side scoring 54 for 1 in 13 overs here on Thursday.
The stop-start match, which was reduced to 34-over-a-side, was abandoned after a second rain interruption. More than an hour and a half later, the umpires decided to call off the match. Opener Evin Lewis and Shai Hope were batting on 40 and 6 respectively when the match was called off after Indian captain Virat Kohli won the toss and asked the West Indies to bat.
Speaking after the match, India skipper Virat Kohli was not too impressed with the stop-starts in the game and said, “It’s probably the worst part of cricket, a stop-start is never a good feeling. Either it should rainout or play the full game. The more stops you have, the more you want to be careful to ensure that the players don’t injure themselves.”
Having won the T20 series 3-0, Kohli believes that ODI cricket nowadays has a strong T20 influence, which is getting reflected with teams looking to score 400 consistently. “Cricket has come a long, long way. England, for example, has done really well with their turnaround. Scores of 400 are being scored regularly now. The game is moving fast because of the T20 influence into the games, and it is only to go higher and higher as we go ahead.”
Kohli also said that the challenge for the Indian team ahead is to adapt to the pitch conditions in the Carribean. “A few of the pitches in the Caribbean can really test you. Some pitches might have good pace and bounce but some of them will be on the slower side and you need to be patient. The team that adapts well and plays a better percentage of cricket will benefit. Both teams will look to do that in the coming days.”
West Indies captain Jason Holder was also not happy with the result of the game and said, ‘Obviously a disappointing day with the weather. Our openers assessed it really well, some balls were stopping and coming on a tacky pitch. They needed to spend some time in the middle. Hopefully, the weather stays good and we get to play some cricket. But we need to stay consistent and if we can get that, it can bring in good habits for people.”