West Indies registered a huge upset when they beat India by 124 runs in the first ODI of a five-match series at Kochi. Catch highlights here:
22:16 (IST): West Indies defeat India by 124 runs in first of five ODIs. Shikhar Dhawan 68; Marlon Samuels 2/10.
22:13 (IST): Shami and Jadeja are at least providing some entertainment with a flurry of sixes. IND 195/9 (40.2 overs).
22:09 (IST): Taylor to Jadeja. SIX! Jadeja gets under this short ball and sends it packing over mid-wicket for a maximum. India 185/9 (39.5 overs).
22:03 (IST): Rampaul to Shami. FOUR! Neatly done! On the pads, Shami flicks it past square leg for a boundary. India 174/9 (38.5 overs).
21:48 (IST): Rampaul to Mohit Sharma. OUT! One more bites the dust! Fuller outside off, Mohit (8) is early into his shot. The ball flies down to third man where Taylor takes a simple catch. That flew off the edge of the bat. India 155/9 (36 overs).
21:40 (IST): Bravo to Mishra. OUT! MISHRA DEPARTS! Bravo bowls the off-spinner outside off, the ball spins in, after hitting the crack and Mishra is hit on his pads in front of the stumps. The players appeal and the umpire says yes. That ball also hit the stumps but the bails did not budge. Mishra is disconsolate as he walks off. India 146/8 (34.3 overs).
21:24 (IST): OUT! Bhuvneshwar is gone for 2, caught by Darren Sammy off Marlon Samuels. Floated outside off, Kumar comes forward and just pushes at it. The ball takes the edge and Sammy takes another good catch at first slip. IND 138/7 (30.4 overs). Samuels is having a gala time right now!
21:15 (IST): OUT! Samuels strikes in his 1st over. He bowls out Dhawan for 68..as if 126 not out with the bat wasn't enough. IND 134/6 (28.4 overs).
21:05 (IST): Sammy to Jadeja. FOUR! SHOT! Fuller outside off, Jadeja comes forward and drives it through covers for a boundary. India 132/5 (27.4 overs).
20:54 (IST): OUT! Sammy gets rid of the Indian skipper. Dhoni is bowled for 8 and India are now 114/5 off 25.1 overs.
20:46 (IST): Shikhar Dhawan hits 9th ODI fifty (71 balls) as India reach 105/4 off 23 overs.
20:36 (IST): 100 comes up for India right at the end of 20 ovs. 100/4. Dhawan 45*, Dhoni 6*. India are chasing 322 to win.
20:34 (IST): Sammy into the attack and Dhawan welcomes him with a boundary off the 2nd ball. IND 99/4 in 19.4 overs now.
20:32 (IST): Benn to Dhawan. ALMOST CAUGHT! Shorter on off, comes in, Dhawan goes on back foot to work it off his pads. The inside edge almost falls into the buckets of Pollard waiting at short leg. India 94/4 (18.4 overs).
20:30 (IST): Suliemann Benn has been brought into the attack now. India 94/4 (18.3 overs). Dhawan and Dhoni at the crease.
20:16 (IST): OUT! Raina bowled for a duck! Captain Bravo thumping his chest, that was a beauty from none other than the skipper himself. IND 83/4 (16.2 overs); chasing 322 to win.
20:12 (IST): Russell to Rayudu. OUT! RAYUDU FLOPS! Good length outside off, Rayudu comes down to hit out but finds Benn at mid on who takes a simple nonchalant catch. Poor shot, given he did not get enough connection. India 82/3 (15.5 overs).
20:02 (IST): Four! Russell bowls a quicker, slightly shorter one & Dhawan shoots it down to third man, brilliant shot. IND 71/2 (13.1 ovs).
19:55 (IST): Things have slowed down for India since that 2nd Kohli dismissal. IND 67/2 (13 ovs); require 255 more to win.
19:37 (IST): Taylor to Kohli. OUT! Ala Anderson from Taylor! Pitched up outside off, on a length, Kohli pokes at it from his crease, the ball swings away at the last moment and gets an edge towards second slip where Sammy takes a good catch. Kohli gone for 2. India 55/2 (9.5 overs). Rayudu is the next man in.
19:32 (IST): OUT! A huge confusion leads to a disastrous run-out for Rahane (24) as Dhawan refused the 2nd run. Throw comes in to Ramdin at the strikers end and he parries it to Rampaul who takes the bails off. IND 49/1 (8.4 ovs).
19:21 (IST): As Dhawan and Rahane continue to pile on the runs (India 38/0, 7 overs), we present you a picture of a memorable moment from earlier in the match today where Ambati Rayudu and some of the other Indian players personally went to congratulate Samuels after his 126-run knock. Samuels remained unbeaten as West Indies surged on to 321/6.
19:12 (IST): Taylor to Rahane. FOUR! Once more. Easy! Sliding down leg, Rahane gently glances it past short fine leg for a boundary. India 25/1 (5.1 overs).
19:06 (IST): Two boundaries from Rahane off Jerome Taylor and suddenly 322 looks chase-able. India 15/0 (4 overs).
18:57 (IST): The noise from the crowd at Kochi is slowly becoming deafening. India 4/0 (2 ovs), chasing 322 vs WI.
18:51 (IST): India score just one run off Rampaul's first over. They are chasing 322 to win vs West Indies. Rahane and Dhawan are opening.
18:27 (IST): While we are inside the innings break, here's some interesting news for all of you. Legendary cricketer Sachin Tendulkar attended the 82nd anniversary celebration of the Indian Air Force at Hindon base on Wednesday. The first person to be conferred with the honourary title of Group Captain - in 2010, Tendulkar was seen in the Air Force uniform and was accompanied by wife Anjali. We leave you with a great picture of the icon.
18:25 (IST): A fantastic batting display from the visitors! They batted really well on a very good wicket. Dwayne Bravo promoted himself to open the innings but that didn't go as planned. The onus was up to the middle-order to deliver and Marlon Samuels chose this day to produce an absolute masterclass. He got together with Ramdin and added 165 runs. While Ramdin fell, Samuels marched on and in the process, crossed the three-figure mark for the sixth time. He finished unbeaten on 126. The Indian bowling came under attack once again, especially in the last 10 or 15 overs. The task ahead is a monumental one, can they chase this total down? Join us for the second innings in a short while.Â
18:14 (IST): West Indies post 321/6 vs India. Samuels 126*, Ramdin 61, Smith 46; Shami 4/66, Jadeja 1/58. This is the highest total scored ever at Kochi.
18:07 (IST): Samuels (118*) is picking his spots and he is hitting boundaries at will. WI 304/6 (48.4 overs). Great inns!
18:02 (IST): OUT! Fourth wicket for Shami! Russell tries for maximum but is caught by Kohli safely at long-off. WI 298/6 (48 overs).
17:59 (IST): OUT! Bowled! Shami knocks over Pollard for 2 for his third wicket. WI 296/5 (47.3 overs).
17:50 (IST): OUT! The Samuels-Ramdin 165-run stand is finally broken! Ramdin is caught by Jadeja off Shami for 61. A low full toss, Ramdin tries to clean house over mid-wicket, ends up miscuing it straight down long on's throat. Jadeja makes no mistake. WI 285/4 (45.4 ovs).
17:43 (IST): Marlon Samuels hits 2nd hundred vs India and 6th in ODIs. It took him 99 balls. West Indies 274/3 (44.3 ovs). That's some comeback from Samuels. He lifts the helmet off his head and literally roars!
17:36 (IST): Denesh Ramdin gets to his 5th ODI fifty with a single off Mohit Sharma. WI 266/3 (43.1 overs).
17:25 (IST): The heads are dropping now for the Indians in the field after some good saves early on. A definite lack of commitment. A good save from Jadeja though to stop the boundary. Bhuvneshwar initially let it slip through his legs after a Samuels cut-shot off Mishra. WI 245/3 (40.2 ovs).
17:23 (IST): 52 runs scored then from the batting powerplay. WI 240/3 (40 overs). Marlon Samuels 77*, Denesh Ramdin 44*.
17:19 (IST): A stumping appeal against Samuels has been referred upstairs. WI 229/3 (39.2 overs). Not out is the call and Samuels stays at the crease. He had his foot back in the ground just at the right time.
17:13 (IST): 100 partnership up between Samuels and Ramdin for the fourth wicket! West Indies 222/3 (38.2 overs).
17:05 (IST): Samuels (68*) has upped the ante one level further now as he hits Bhuvneshwar for four! WI 208/2 (36.2 overs). Ramdin 31*.
17:03 (IST): Ramdin hits an above-the-waist Mohammed Shami full toss for 6 and then gets four! WI 204/3 (36 overs). 16 runs from what was looking like a pretty decent over. West Indies look all set to cross 300 here in the first innings.
16:48 (IST): Marlon Samuels hits Raina for a colossal six and that brings up his 24th fifty in ODIs. WI 180/3 (33.3 ovs). Samuels has also crossed 4000 runs in ODI cricket.
16:38 (IST): Back-to-back sixes for Marlon Samuels. Amit Mishra taken to the cleaners. WI 163/3 (30.2 overs). Samuels moves to 46 not out.
16:33 (IST): In some great news, Sachin Tendulkar attended the 82nd Air Force Day parade at Hindon Air Force Station in Ghaziabad on Wednesday. Tendulkar was conferred with the IAF honourary rank of Group Captain to honour his cricketing achievements in 2010. He was the first personality with no aviation background to receive the honour.
16:23 (IST): Marlon Samuels is looking good today. He has already moved up to 27 and is 22 runs away from completing 4000 runs in ODI cricket. This India series is a litmus test for Samuels because he has been out-of-form for about 2 years now. WI 143/3 (27.1 overs). Seam back on as Mohit Sharma comes to bowl.
16:16 (IST): Denesh Ramdin is the new man in for Windies. He got a ton vs India A in the last tour match. WI 130/3 (24.4 overs).
16:09 (IST): Mishra to Darren Bravo. OUT! Tossed up on off, Bravo (28) once again, tries to go over the ropes over long off, he miscues it a tad and finds the waiting hands of Dhawan at long off. He was looking good but that was a loose shot. WI 120/3 (22.3 overs).
16:01 (IST): Great commitment shown by Amit Mishra in the field again but it goes for four this time and it's Marlon Samuels turning on the heat. WI 110/2 (21 overs).
15:59 (IST): Ravindra Jadeja has been as active in the field today as effective he has been with the ball. Great commitment! He saved a certain four there as the ball was racing ahead on his wrong side. WI 105/2 (20.2 overs). Marlon Samuels is the new man in for West Indies and he is one batsman who has been very successful for them while facing India in India.
15:48 (IST): OUT! Jadeja takes revenge for six on the previous ball! Smith is bowled for 46 & WI are now 98/2 (17.2 ovs).
15:37 (IST): Jadeja to Darren Bravo. FOUR! Lovely shot! Short and flat outside off, Bravo rocks back and carves it past point for a boundary. WI 85/1 (15.4 overs) and 50-run stand between Bravo and Smith comes up. 51 off 54 balls, impressive!
15:35 (IST): Ravindra Jadeja replaces Amit Mishra in the attack now. WI 81/1 (15.2 overs).
15:34 (IST): Bhuvneshwar to Smith. FOUR! Chipped away! Fuller ball on middle, Smith plays a chip shot that is away from the man at long on and into the fence. WI 77/1 (15 overs).
15:32 (IST): Did you know? West Indies are one of the three teams who have won more ODIs than they have lost vs India in India. Here at Kochi, Windies are 73/1 after 14.5 overs.
15:23 (IST): Bhuvneshwar Kumar is back into the attack now and on the other end it's Amit Mishra bowling spin. WI 61/1 (12.2 overs).
15:21 (IST): Big appeal from Amit Mishra for LBW but it's turned down by Ian Gould. West Indies now 61/1 after 12 overs. Dwayne Smith 29*, Darren Bravo 4*. Replays show it might have been out or at least close but the umpire wasn't convinced.
15:12 (IST): Shami to Darren Bravo. Just a defensive push from Bravo on a relatively quicker ball and it almost reaches the boundary. Great timing, 2 runs taken. WI 51/1 now in 9.3 overs.
15:09 (IST):Â Some more interesting news coming in from Kerala and this time it also concerns hockey. Indian hockey team vice-captain and goalkeeper PR Sreejesh, the hero of Incheon Asian Games final against Pakistan, was honoured by Mahendra Singh Dhoni on behalf of Kerala Cricket Association (KCA) for his performance in the summit clash of the continental event.
15:05 (IST): Mohit Sharma replaces Bhuvneshwar Kumar now in the seam attack. Darren Bravo is the new man in for West Indies. WI 37/1 (8.2 overs).
15:01 (IST): Shami to Bravo. Edged and it goes into the hands of Dhawan at slips. Bravo goes for 17. WI 34/1 (7.1 ovs).
14:55 (IST): Bravo decides he has had too much and he stops the deadlock. Hits Shami for four towards long on in a slightly uppish drive and that boundary actually followed four leg-byes on the previous ball. However, Shami comes back strong and bowls a virtually unplayable leg-break delivery. Bravo misses it completely. Another dot ball and Bravo once again hits a perfect square leg boundary through middle and leg. WI 31/0 (5.5 overs), the scoreboard is moving quickly.
14:50 (IST): Bhuvneshwar bowls a maiden and he is doing well to stop the flow of runs here. WI now 19/0 in 5 overs.
14:43 (IST): Shami replaces Mohit Sharma in the pace attack and once again Bravo has a wild swing at the ball but this time he misses. West Indies want to put up a really good fight here and they are going for everything very early. WI 18/0 (3.2 overs).
14:41 (IST): In latest cricket news, India pace spearhead Bhuvneshwar Kumar is among five cricketers shortlisted by the International Cricket Council for the annual People's Choice Award. Five players from five different countries are nominated to win the only award voted for by the public at the annual ICC Awards.
14:38 (IST): West Indies batsmen showing intent straight away. Bravo and Smith finding the gaps. WI 16/0 (2 overs).
14:34 (IST): This is one of the noisiest stadiums in India with drums, trumpets and music filling the Kochi ground straight away. Meanwhile, Bravo smashes Mohit Sharma for four off the back-foot on the offside, a touch too short from Sharma. WI 10/0 (1.3 overs).
14:31 (IST): Bhuvneshwar to Smith. FOUR! Smith is up and running! Full and some width on offer, Smith drives uppishly but finds the gap between cover and point for the first boundary of the game. WI 4/0 (0.2 overs)
14:16 (IST): West Indies XI: Smith, Samuels, Bravo, Ramdin, Dwayne Bravo, Pollard, Sammy, Russell, Benn, Rampaul, Taylor.
14:14 (IST): India XI: Dhawan, Rahane, Kohli, Rayudu, Raina, Dhoni (c), Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar, Mishra, Shami, Mohit Sharma.
14:01 (IST): India opt to bowl vs West Indies at Kochi. India are going with two spinners and three seamers in the playing eleven today. Amit Mishra and Ravindra Jadeja will form the two-man spin attack. Plenty of changes for the West Indies side. Four players are out of the team, Leon Johnson, Jason Holder, Kemar Roach and Lendl Simmons..which means everybody else in the squad gets a chance to play.
13:49 (IST): The West Indies players are now warming up at the Kochi ground and so the pay dispute issue is not going to force a boycott today. The pitch has a bit of moisture in it and there will be something for the spinners later.
13:10 (IST): As per the latest news, the West Indies team has boarded the bus and they are on their way to the ground. Although there is a threat of thunderstorm later at Kochi, the weather is clear as of now.
West Indies have grabbed all the wrong headlines ahead of their series against India. Two defeats in the warm-up games against India A and a pay dispute less than 24 hours ahead of the first ODI in Kochi sums up the mood in the Caribbean camp.
The reputation of West Indian cricket has declined rapidly in the post-Clive Lloyd era. West Indies have toured India thrice in the last four seasons and seem to be BCCI's favourite punching bag. Several Caribbeans perform better when they play private T20 tournaments like IPL and Champions League T20 than wearing their national colours. This series will once again test the 'loyalty' factor.
West Indies are without two key players - Chris Gayle and Sunil Narine. The latter's absence is quite mysterious and chief selector Lloyd is angry that Narine has been cleverly 'dumped'. In Indian conditions, Narine's finger spin would have been a great asset. The job has to be done by Sulieman Benn, who has the experience of bowling on Indian wickets.
While West Indies will rely heavily on skipper Dwayne Bravo, Dwayne Smith, Kieron Pollard and Andre Russell - all IPL stalwarts - the team is not without depth. Ravi Rampaul and Marlon Samuels are quality limited overs cricketers and Denesh Ramdin's ability to score big in the middle order make West Indies a good side. Planning and application are all they need.
India, of course, are better organized. Skipper MS Dhoni and coach Duncan Fletcher will work behind the scenes alongside Ravi Shastri to test new combinations and players. While Ajinkya Rahane and Shikhar Dhawan are expected to open the batting, this series should see Virat Kohli back among runs. But all eyes will be on Kuldeep Yadav, the rookie Chinaman bowler who made the squad after Ravichandran Ashwin was rested.
Bowlers like Yadav are rare in cricket. He made an impression during CLT20 and the selectors will like to watch him from close. West Indies are suspect against spin. The last time West Indies played in Kochi, spin ruined them. All the odds seemed to be stacked against the visitors.