Windies vs India, 1st ODI – Who Said What

As some of the weather predictions stated beforehand, the first ODI between Windies and India was abandoned due to rain. It was a frustrating passage of play in the overall 13 overs that were possible during the game. It took a long while for the toss to take place and India decided to field first after winning it. However, just after 5.4 overs of action, there was a rain interruption yet again.

The sun kept playing hide and seek. When it was out this time, it was decided that the game would be cut short to 34-overs per side. It was during this passage of play the Kuldeep Yadav got the better of Chris Gayle. The ‘Universe Boss’ never seemed to have got going at any stage of his innings. He ended up playing way too many dot ball which has built up the frustration.

After scoring just 4 runs from 30 balls, he wanted to break loose when the spinner came on. As he looked to heave a ball over deep-wicket, the ball hit his inside edge and crashed into the stumps. When there was yet another rain interruption after the end of the 13th over, it only got heavier and heavier this time. Even though the rain has ceased at one point in time, it created enough damage by then.

The entire ground was soaked in water and time wasn’t really sufficient to get the stadium back in condition. In the first 5 hours and 42 minutes after the scheduled beginning time of the match, only 13 overs were possible. The hosts scored 54 runs for the loss of 1 wicket before the game was called off. Evin Lewis was batting on 40 while Shai Hope was unbeaten on 6.

Virat Kohli, the India captain, said:

It’s probably the worst part of cricket, a stop-start is never a good feeling. Either it should rainout or play the full game. The more stops you have, the more you want to be careful to ensure that the players don’t injure themselves. Cricket has come a long, long way. England, for example, have done really well with their turnaround. Scores of 400 are being scored regularly now.

The game is moving fast because of the T20 influence into the games, and it is only to go higher and higher as we go ahead. The guys are fitter, sharper now and all teams will have to keep up with that. A few of the pitches in the Caribbean can really test you. Some pitches might have good pace and bounce but some of them will be on the slower side and you need to be patient. The team that adapts well and plays better percentage cricket will benefit. Both teams will look to do that in the coming days.

Carlos Brathwaite, the Windies captain, said

Obviously a disappointing day with the weather. Our openers assessed it really well, some balls were stopping and coming on a tacky pitch. They needed to spend some time in the middle. Hopefully, the weather stays good and we get to play some cricket. But we need to stay consistent and if we can get that, it can bring in good habits for people.