Twitter Reactions: West Indies fall short by three runs in thrilling series opener as India draw first blood

India’s tour of West Indies kick-started with a thrilling encounter between the two in the first ODI of the three-match series. The two teams put up a brilliant show and got every viewer on the edge of their seats in the nail-biting thriller. While both teams put up terrific performances, it was India that emerged victorious as the Men in Blue held their nerves to win the game by mere three runs.

Stand-in skipper Shikhar Dhawan found a new opening partner in the form of Shubman Gill as the two started off India’s innings on a high note. While Dhawan played a calm and composed knock, Gill was comparatively quicker as the duo shared a 119-run partnership and bagged their respective half-centuries in the game. Gill (64 off 53) was the first one to walk off the field after being run out by Nicholas Pooran.

Shreyas Iyer walked in at No. 3 and shut all the critics with his fierce knock. The vice-captain was a great aid to the captain as the two put up a 94-run stand, taking India to a comfortable position. Just when Dhawan neared his century, and it looked like India would easily cross the 350-run mark, West Indies bowlers bounced back as India faced a mini-collapse.

Dhawan (97 off 99) missed out on a century by mere three runs as Brooks took a brilliant catch to send him packing off Gudakesh Motie’s delivery. Pooran repeated some similar heroic and plucked a stunner to send Iyer (54 off 57) walking. The middle-order batters could not capitalize on the momentum that was set by the top order as Suryakumar Yadav, Sanju Samson and Deepak Hooda failed to fire. A handy cameo by Axar Patel (21 off 21) helped India finish at 308/7. As for the hosts, Alzarri Joseph and Motie were the standout bowlers.

Both teams hold their nerves till the final delivery of the game

Mohammed Siraj got the first breakthrough for India very early as he scalped Shai Hope (7 off 18) in just the fifth over. While that wicket gave India a major boost in their confidence, they did not know what was coming ahead. Kyle Mayers and Shamarh Brooks (46 off 61) kept the game going and shared a 117-run stand for the second wicket before the latter fell prey to Shardul Thakur.

Thakur got another wicket in his next over and dismissed the in-form Mayers (75 off 68). ‘Lord Thakur’, as he is fondly known, finally worked his magic and proved yet again why he stands to that name. Prasidh Krishna endured a tought time against West Indies hitters, as they punished him for multiple boundaries throughout his 10-over spell which kept their scoreboard ticking and the pacer ended up conceding 62 runs without taking a wicket.

Siraj got Nicholas Pooran (25 off 26) and Yuzvendra Chahal picked his first in the form of Rovman Powell as India finally got a ray of hope. Just after Brandon King (54 off 66) got his half-century, Chahal got him off the hook. West Indies still had a trump card in the form of Romario Shepherd (39 off 25), who got to work from the word go. He, alongside Akeal Hosein (32 off 32) brought the game down to the final ball. With the hosts needing a four to tie and a six to win, Siraj conceded just one run off that delivery as India bagged the win.

Here’s how Twitter reacted to the proceedings: