Rain plays spoilsport in Windies v India series opener

The first ODI of the five match series between India and Windies was called off after persistent rains hit the venue at Port of Spain. The stage was set for the series opener at the Queen’s Park Oval as both sides had different agenda going into the game. For the hosts, the series is expected to be all about an attempt to improve their ODI rankings.

Ranked number 9 in the ICC ODI rankings, team Windies have very few opportunities left before the cut off dates for direct qualification for the ICC World Cup 2019. On the other hand, for India, the series is more about continuing their good momentum. In the game, it was the Windies skipper Jason Holder who won the toss and opted to field first.

The Indian openers, Shikhar Dhawan and Ajinkya Rahane, got off to a steady and decent start. They picked up pace during the middle overs. Dhawan, in particular, looked to be in sublime form. Both openers scored their individual fifties and mustered a century opening stand. They added 132 off 150 balls for the opening wicket before Rahane was dimissed by Alzarri Joseph. He scored 62 off 78 balls with 8 fours to his name.

Virat Kohli joined Dhawan at the crease. Dhawan missed out on a well deserved ton and fell short by 13 runs. He was trapped lbw by Devendra Bishoo on 87 that came off 92 balls with 8 fours and 2 sixes. Yuvraj Singh’s stay at the crease was a short one. He was sent packing on 4 by Jason Holder. In walked MS Dhoni to join Kohli at the crease. Just when the two had started settling in, rain poured down.

After a break of almost 50 minutes, the play resumed but only to see 8 more legal deliveries being bowled. The players walked off the park with India on 199/3 in 39.2 overs. Persistent rain allowed no further game and the match was called off. The two teams will now meet at the same venue on June 25 in the second ODI.