Hyderabad:Riding on blistering knock by captain Virat Kohli 94 off 50, India thrashed West Indies by six wickets in the first T20I, to take 1-0 lead in the three-match series, here at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium on Friday.
Apart from Kohli , KL Rahul also played a brilliant innings of 62 off 40 as India chased down the target , 209-4 in 18.4 overs. Chasing the mammoth target of 208 for victory, openers Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul gave India a good start. Carrying his Syed Mushtaq Ali form, KL Rahul played some beautiful shots and took 13 runs from the 2nd over.
However, Rohit Sharma didn't look in great touch and got out after scoring only 8 runs from 10 balls leaving India to 30/1 after 3.2 overs. After Rohit's wicket, captain Kohli joined Rahul on the crease and kept India on the track during the chase.
In the meantime, KL Rahul dealt in boundaries and KL Rahul became the seventh Indian batsman to score 1,000 T20I runs. He also became the joint third-fastest to the 1,000-run mark after Babar Azam (26), Virat Kohli (28) and Aaron Finch (29).
Meanwhile, Rahul and Kohli also had a 50-run partnership for the second wicket, leading India to 81/1 after 9 overs. India were on course for as easy run-chase but Rahul got out after scoring a quickfire 62 off 40. Indian skipper was joined by Rishabh Pant at the crease.Rishabh Pant also played big shots and kept the required run rate below 10 before getting out on a poor shot selection to depart for 9-ball 18.
However, Virat Kohli who was joined by Shreyas Iyer at the crease, kept the chase on track India needed 26 runs from 18 balls to win. Pollard took a stunning catch in his own bowling to dismiss Shreyas Iyer in the 18th over. At the end , Indian captain Kohli remained unbeaten and guided India to comfortable win overWest Indies in the first match of the series. (UNI)
