India vs Windies 2018, 1st T20I: Unnoticed things from the match

After a one-sided Test series and a couple of lop-sided ODIs (fourth and fifth games), the T20 series was expected to be a lot closer. Windies are the defending champions of the World T20 and they are considered specialists in the shortest format.

However, the Windies batsmen failed for the third consecutive time as they could only muster 109 in their 20 overs. All the Indian bowlers bowled really well. Krunal Pandya and Khaleel Ahmed were excellent on debut while Kuldeep Yadav, as usual, was at his best.

The Windies bowlers did make life difficult for the Indian batsmen but they just didn’t seem to have enough runs on the board. Oshane Thomas bowled a fiery spell upfront and did have India in a spot of bother. However, despite losing wickets at regular intervals, Dinesh Karthik’s composed 31 took India home as they go 1-0 up in the three-match T20I series.

Let’s look back at five unnoticed things from the game.

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#5 Rohit Sharma registers most wins after first 10 T20Is as captain

It is no secret that Rohit Sharma is a very capable captain and his success with the Mumbai Indians is a testament to that fact. Every time he has led India, more often than not, he has passed out with flying colours.

Rohit has now registered 9 T20I wins which is the highest by any captain after his first 10 games as captain. Right from the time he led the side against Sri Lanka last December, he has slipped into the role really well and has shown great maturity. Every time, Virat Kohli has been rested or injured, the Mumbai batsman has been really good.

Rohit will have a chance to build on this record in the next couple of games as well as he tries to equal Virat Kohli’s win record of 10 T20I wins.

#4 Five debutants in the game

In recent times, we have seen quite a few debuts in T20 cricket. Teams have started using these T20I series to give opportunities to different players.

In this game, there were five debutants – a couple of them from India (Krunal Pandya and Khaleel Ahmed) and three from the Windies (Oshane Thomas, Fabian Allen and Kharry Pierre). All five of them had decent outings.

While Fabian Allen was the highest scorer for the Windies, Kharry Pierre bowled well and kept things tight as he finished with figures of 1/16 in his four overs. Oshane Thomas bowled a fiery opening spell and removed both the Indian openers.

Krunal Pandya contributed with both bat and ball (21 in 9 balls and 1/15) and Khaleel finished with figures of 1/16 in his four overs.

This game definitely provided the young talent with a chance to prove themselves on the higher stage. This was a great experience for all of them.

#3 KL Rahul’s sloppy day in the field

KL Rahul has been warming the benches over the last few weeks. After playing just one game in the Asia Cup, he failed in the two-match Test series against the Windies and was back on the bench during the ODI series.

However, KL Rahul’s T20 form has been very good and has consistently got opportunities. Rahul’s fielding has also been really good and particularly, his catching has been impressive.

However, in this first T20I against the Windies, Rahul had a forgettable day on the field. He almost messed up an easy run-out opportunity with a wayward throw and if not for Manish Pandey’s backing up, India might not have got the wicket of Shai Hope through a run-out at that stage.

He then dropped Fabien Allen when the debutant was batting on 6. Though it was hit high into the night sky, given the standards this team sets, Rahul should’ve taken it. Apart from these instances, there were a couple of misfields as well.

With the bat, he didn’t do much either as he could manage only 16 off 22 balls. Thus, it wasn’t a great day for KL Rahul.

#2 Windies’ lowest T20I score against India

The Windies batting seems to have faded away from the time they won the third ODI in Pune. In the fourth ODI, they were bowled out for 153 chasing a mammoth 378. However, in the fifth ODI at Trivandrum, they batted first and were shot out for a mere 104. That was their lowest ODI score against India.

Three days later, they have now registered their lowest T20I score against India. None of the batsmen showed any sort of intent of taking the team to a good score. Every batsman came in and struggled to get going. Barring Fabien Allen (batting at No. 8) who came in and top-scored with 27 in 20 balls, none of the batsmen went past the 20-run mark.

Windies were 87/8 and were in danger of being bowled out inside 100, but an unbroken 22-run stand between Fabian Allen and Khary Pierre propelled the visitors to 109. However, this 109 is also Windies’ fourth lowest score in T20Is batting first.

#1 Only one six in each innings

The ODI series saw a total of 71 sixes in the five games and in the build up to this series, a lot more fireworks were expected. The men from the Caribbean are known for their big hitting and struck 38 sixes in the ODI series with most of them coming in the first three games.

However, only one six was hit in each innings. From Windies, it came from the bat of Kieron Pollard. The all-rounder, who returned to international cricket after a gap of over a year, struck his Mumbai Indians’ teammate Krunal Pandya for a huge six over long-on in the 8th over of the innings. However, that was the only six in the innings as they kept losing wickets at regular intervals. It was the sixth time Windies managed just a solitary six in a T20 innings.

For India, it came from the bat of Dinesh Karthik and that came in the 9th over when Karthik top-edged a well-directed bouncer from Oshane Thomas and the ball went over fine-leg. With India trying to play it safe, they didn’t take any undue risks and hence, finished with just one six.