India vs West Indies, 1st ODI: Rain is the winner at Port of Spain

The first ODI between West Indies and India at Port of Spain proved to be, literally, a damp squid. West Indies had won the toss and elected to bat first in the wee hours at Port of Spain. As the sleepy, scattered audience made their way into the stands, openers Shikhar Dhawan and Ajinkya Rahane had already started doing what has become a template for India; play out the first 10 overs.

The two had little trouble in putting up a three-figure opening stand. Both of them also reached their fifties and, by the time Rahane was dismissed at 62, the opening stand had ballooned to 132 off 24 overs. Captain Virat Kohli, who has been caught in some off-the-field storms of late, came into the middle and yet again, West Indies found it difficult to find a breakthrough. When it did come, it was in the form of Dhawan, who was 13 runs away from an 11th ODI century.

Yuvraj Singh was the next to fall. He succumbed to pressure created by the number of dot balls that West Indies forced him to play and was once again dismissed without much of a contribution made. MS Dhoni and Kohli were in the middle when rain interrupted play in the 39th over. India had made a total of 199 runs for the loss of three wickets at that point.

It took a long time but the drizzles eventually subsided. A decision was made that India would end their innings and West Indies would be required to chase down a target of 194 in 26 overs. Even the covers had been taken off but rains lashed the field yet again and the game had to be called off.

Courtesy : indianexpress