India vs West Indies: 4 reasons why West Indies lost the 1st T20I

In another captaincy assignment in the absence of regular skipper Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma won the toss and decided to field first in the first T20I against West Indies at Kolkata. The Indian team was without the services of few of their big boys as they roped in debutants Krunal Pandya and Khaleel Ahmed for their first taste of international flavour in this format.

The Indian bowlers came all guns blazing as the visitors lost the plot early in their innings. With three wickets lost inside the first six overs, West Indies could never recover as they somehow stumbled to 109 in their 20 overs. Kuldeep Yadav was the pick of the bowlers for the home team as the chinaman bagged three crucial wickets to dent the opposition at regular intervals. It was an all-round bowling effort as each other bowler contributed with a wicket each.

In what happened to be a tricky chase in a low scoring fixture, India's formidable batting ensured an easy win in the end as they cruised to victory inside 18 overs with five wickets to spare. After losing their skipper early in the first over, India were dented with two quick wickets inside the first six overs. However, the partnership between Dinesh Karthik and Manish Pandey ensured a comfortable victory as India gained a 1-0 lead in the three-match T20I series before they head to Lucknow for the second T20I on November 6.

Here's a look at some of the reasons why West Indies lost the match:

#4. Lost way too many wickets in the Powerplay

It was never going to be easy for the defending champions to lock horns against India in what is known to be West Indies' most successful format of the game. India never allowed the visitors to prosper and make inroads for themselves early in the innings. They stuck to their plans and asked batters to make things happen. This indeed worked for the Men in Blue as the Windies' batters were forced to commit mistakes.

They lost their three top-order batsmen inside the first six overs to put excessive pressure on the middle order. From there on it was all about rebuilding the innings which never happened as lack of experience was quite evident in their batting line up. As a result, they could not post a decent challenge against Indians in the middle overs and were eventually bowled out for a paltry score of 109 in their 20 overs.

#3. Lack of partnerships for Windies

It is always said that to post huge scores in any format, partnerships in the innings always hold the key to achieve the eventual. The visitors never saw this coming for them after they were asked to bat first by Rohit Sharma. None of their batters looked settled and found themselves in a haste to go for the big hits. The situation demanded maturity and the West Indies' batting line-up certainly lacked the experience to show that level of maturity.

As a result, a partnership was never on offer and they lost wickets at regular intervals. The experienced Keiron Pollard did try to force a partnership with Darren Bravo but the declining run-rate got the better of his intent to count for his wicket. In the end, it was only because of some lower-order contributions that they could cross the 100-run mark in their innings.

#2. Kuldeep Yadav rattles visitors with a three-for

In the first T20I in Kolkata, the home team decided to go in with a specialized spinner in Kuldeep Yadav and a spinning all-rounder Krunal Pandya to do the job for the team. This meant no place in the team for Yuzvendra Chahal. Kuldeep delivered the goods for his skipper as his wrist-spin got the better of the opposition. He rattled the West Indies' batting order with a 3-for in his superb spell of bowling.

The opposition batters were left reeling as they failed to pick Kuldeep from his wrist. He made life miserable with his economical spell of four overs at such a crucial juncture in the game. He didn't allow the opposition to flourish in the middle overs and helped to take a firm control over the game. It was indeed a game-changing spell as India reigned supremacy in the entire course of the first innings.

#1. Karthik-Pandey partnership bails India out of trouble

In what panned out as a difficult time for India with the bat in the 2nd innings, the top-order was undone by some consistent and fearsome fast bowling upfront by the West Indies bowlers. However, after having lost four wickets, the partnership between Karthik and Pandey bailed India out of trouble to win the game for the side.

The duo stitched a crucial partnership for the fifth wicket and ensured no further hiccups in the small chase. Karthik took the charge as he shifted gears against Pollard to smash him for three fours in an over to change momentum in India's favour. Pandey played the anchors role as he steadied the innings. He was caught and bowled for 19 off the debutant Kharre Pierre. However, the 38-run stand was enough to help India register victory in the first of the three-match T20I series.