Bishnoi, Rohit and Suryakumar star as India clinch 1st T20I vs West Indies

India defeated West Indies by six wickets in the 1st T20I on Wednesday at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata to claim a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.

Rohit Sharma clobbered 40 off 19 as India got off to a sensational start in their chase of 158. However, India slipped after their skipper's dismissal and found themselves in a spot of bother at 114 for 4. But Suryakumar Yadav (34* off 18) and Venkatesh Iyer (24* off 13) held their nerve to take the hosts home in 18.5 overs.

Rohit hammered four fours and three sixes to give India the early momentum even as Ishan Kishan struggled at the other end. After getting into rhythm with a couple of well-timed strokes, the Indian captain took a liking to Odean Smith in the fourth over, which went for 22. After whipping a four to midwicket, he top-edged a short ball for six. The penultimate delivery was sweetly driven past mid-off for a boundary, while the last one was launched over midwicket for another maximum.

Three more fours came in the next over, bowled by Akeal Hosein. Two of them came off Kishan’s bat as Team India reached 57 for no loss after five overs. After a couple of tight overs from West Indies, Rohit perished to Roston Chase (2/14). The Indian captain tried to launch one over cow corner but failed to get the elevation and was smartly caught by Smith, who was extremely mindful of the ropes.

Despite losing Rohit, India were comfortably placed at 80 for 1 at the halfway stage. However, West Indies hit back with two quick wickets to come back into the contest. Kishan’s misery ended on 35 off 42 balls as he hit Chase straight into the hands of deep midwicket. In the next over, Virat Kohli (17) lofted a delivery from Fabian Allen to long-off.

Suryakumar came in and hit consecutive fours to ease some of the pressure that was building up. However, India made life tougher for themselves as Rishabh Pant (8) perished to Sheldon Cottrell, flicking the bowler straight to short fine leg.

With the pressure growing, Yadav crunched a four through cover and smacked a six over the keeper off Cottrell to reduce the equation to 19 off 18. Iyer finished off the match in style, launching Allen for a six over midwicket.

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Nicholas Pooran lifts West Indies to 157 for 7 after Ravi Bishnoi impresses on debut

Debutant leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi (2/17) claimed two wickets in one over as West Indies slid to 74 for 4 after being sent into bat. However, a sparkling half-century from Nicholas Pooran (61 off 43) lifted the visitors to a competitive 157 for 7.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar got India off to a brilliant start, having Brandon King (4) caught at point in the first over with one that moved away. Kyle Mayers threw his bat around and found some useful boundaries as the visitors reached a decent 44 for 1 at the end of six overs.

Yuzvendra Chahal could have had Pooran caught immediately after the powerplay. However, a nervous Bishnoi touched the ropes with his foot after taking a catch at long-on. The experienced leg-spinner, however, struck at the other end, trapping Mayers (31) in front of the wicket as the batter missed his slog sweep.

Bishnoi made up for his error in the field by dismissing Roston Chase (4) and Rovman Powell (2) in the 11th over of the innings. While the former was foxed with a googly and hit plumb in front of the stumps, the latter holed out to long-on.

Pooran began the 17th over by slog-sweeping Chahal for a six and brought a 38-ball fifty off the next delivery by cutting a short ball through backward point for four. The left-hander also smacked a slower ball from Harshal Patel (2/37) for a maximum over long-on before perishing in the same over while attempting another big hit.

West Indies skipper Kieron Pollard contributed a useful 24* off 19 to lift the team past the 150-mark. India ended the innings on a high though, as captain Rohit took a brilliant catch to dismiss Odean Smith (4), running to his right from mid-on.

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India vs West Indies 2022: Who was the Player of the Match in the 1st T20I?

Pooran played a fantastic knock for West Indies. His blazing fifty gave the team something to bowl at. Chase was brilliant with his off-spin as he stifled the Indian innings and claimed the big wickets of Rohit and Kishan.

For India, leggie Bishoi was superb on debut with figures of 2 for 17. Skipper Rohit then got the Indian innings underway with a sparkling knock. Suryakumar also came in and played a fine knock under pressure.

Bishoi was named Player of the Match for making a fantastic debut.