The wrist-spinner picked up a three-wicket haul but the West Indies fought back with a late onslaught from Holder.
Follow Us
India wrist spinner Yuzvendra Chahal weaved his magic to restrict the West Indies to 176 in the first One-Day International (ODI) at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad on Sunday. Opting to bowl, Chahal and Washington Sundar ran through the West Indies top-order to leave them reeling at 71/5. Openers Shai Hope (8) and Brandon King (13) failed to do much with the bat as Darren Bravo (18), Shamarah Brooks (12), Nicholas Pooran (18) and captain Kieron Pollard (0) followed suit.
However, it then looked like middle and lower-order batsmen Jason Holder (57) and Fabian Allen (29), were batting on a different pitch as they opened a late fightback for the West Indies. The duo forged a 78-run stand for the eighth wicket to resurrect the West Indies innings from 79/7 to 157/8.
The tall all-rounder turned out to be the aggressor between the two as he fearlessly struck four sixes in his 71-ball knock. His partner Allen played the perfect role of a second fiddle as he paced his 43-ball knock cautiously and hit two boundaries before falling to Sundar.
Following their dismissal, Alzarri Joseph (13), contributed with an important cameo. His 16-ball knock included one boundary and one hit over the fence.
India ODI captain Rohit Sharma utilized five bowlers — three seamers and two spinners — with Chahal and Sundar making the difference for the side.
Sundar dismissed top-order batsmen King and Bravo early before getting rid of Allen to break his crucial stand with Holder while Chahal removed Brooks before sending back Pooran and Pollard. He also got the final wicket of Joseph and completed 100 ODI wickets in the match.
Chahal, thus, was the stand-out bowler for India in the match as he returned figures of 4/49 with Sundar picking up 3 for 30. Among the seamers, Prasidh Krishna picked up two wickets while Mohammed Siraj scalped one, early.
READ MORE: Raj Bawa, Shaik Rasheed and their starring role in India’s ICC U-19 World Cup win
