India secured a thrilling victory in the most recent outing against West Indies. The Shikhar Dhawan-led men contested the first game of the three-match One Day International (ODI) series, in Port of Spain, Trinidad.
West Indies (WI) skipper Nicholas Pooran won the toss and elected to field first, on Friday night (July 22). Dhawan, the skipper himself, led from the front and scored 97 runs in 99 deliveries, with 10 fours and three sixes. Furthermore, opener Shubman Gill too, scored 64 runs in 53 deliveries, with 6 fours and a couple of sixes.
Shreyas Iyer then, coming in to bat at number three, in absence of Virat Kohli, scored 54 runs in 57 deliveries, with 5 boundaries and 2 sixes. Iyer has scored this knock after his long struggle with the bat. India, finally, posted a certainly defendable total of 308 runs for 7 wickets. Meanwhile, for West Indies (WI), pacer Alzarri Joseph and left-arm orthodox spinner Gundakesh Motie picked up 2 wickets each.
In reply, WI batters were going decent as the lefty opener Kyle Mayers scored 75 runs in 68 deliveries, with 10 fours and a six, being the highest run-scorer for his side. Shamarh Brooks, the right-hand number three batter then, was involved in a firm partnership with Mayers. The duo overall added 117 runs in the WI account.
Brooks, individually, was eyeing on a half-century. Shardul Thakur, however, broke the partnership and forced Brooks to play a pull shot, off a slower back-of-the-length delivery. Brooks botched to connect the shot and handed a catch to Iyer, who was standing at deep square leg.
The 27-year-old, after taking the catch, performed some unique dance moves while turning towards the stands and apparently, smiled at someone.
Watch the video:
https://twitter.com/KuchNahiUkhada/status/1550675035794325505?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1550675035794325505%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.hindustantimes.com%2Fcricket%2Fwatch-shreyas-iyer-s-unique-dancing-celebration-towards-stands-after-taking-shamarh-brooks-catch-goes-viral-101658517888256.html
India take 1-0 lead in 3-match series
Besides, after the Mayers-Brooks stand, skipper Pooran and Brandon King tried to rebuild the WI innings. Though King hit a half-century, the stand was not enough to attain victory. In the end, Akeal Hosein and Romario Shepherd, both the batters tried to make it for the ‘Men in Maroon’ but Mohammed Siraj’s excellent spell in the death turned the tables around.
India won the game by a margin of 3 runs and are leading the way by 1 – 0, for now. The ‘Men in Blue’ will be out again, at the same venue, for the second game of the series, tomorrow (Sunday, July 24).
Written by Prachi Pisal
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