India edge West Indies by 3 runs

India just managed to hold off the challenge of an inspired West Indies team with the under-strength visitors coming away with a three-run victory in the first One-Day International of a three-match series at Queen’s Park Oval in Trinidad on Friday.

Stand-in captain Shikhar Dhawan’s 97 was the foundation of his side’s total of 308 for seven which appeared to be more than enough at the halfway stage given that the hosts were just coming off a 3-0 drubbing at the hands of Bangladesh in Guyana a week earlier.

However, opener Kyle Mayers set the tone for the Caribbean side’s chase with a top-score of 75 and with the rest of the batting order making important contributions the West Indies reached the final over needing 15 runs for victory.

Romario Shepherd, playing only because former captain Jason Holder was ruled out with Covid-19 in the morning, and Akeal Hosein managed to scramble 11 against seamer Mohammed Siraj as they finished agonisingly short at 305-6.

Dhawan’s innings off 99 balls with three sixes and ten fours earned him the “Man of the Match” award although the left-handed opener was not too pleased with his team’s effort in the field.

“We had a few nerves obviously towards the end of the match and maybe we didn’t stick to our plans as well as we should have because if we had done so, especially with a few runs given away on the leg-side, the game would have been over as a contest earlier,” Dhawan said after the match.