WI vs Ind, 1st ODI: Blistering knocks by Dhawan, Gill guide visitors to 308/7 in 1st innings

Port of Spain [Trinidad], July 22 (ANI): Top knocks by Shikhar Dhawan, Shubman Gill, and Shreyas Iyer took Team India’s score to 308/7 in the first innings of the first ODI of the three-match series against West Indies, here at Queen’s Park Oval on Friday.
Dhawan smashed 97 runs off 99 balls while Gill scored 64 runs in 53 balls, to provide Team India with a strong hand in the first innings. For West Indies, Alzarri Joseph and Gudakesh Motie scalped two wickets each while Romario Shepherd and Akeal Hosein took one wicket each.
Put to bat first, Team India had a great start with the opening batters Dhawan and Shubman Gill thrashing Caribbean bowlers at every corner of the ground. The duo took the team’s total across the 100-run mark in just 14 overs.
Gill also brought up his half-century in 40 balls and kept the game in the favour of the Men in Blue. West Indies finally took a sigh of relief after Alzarri Joseph dismissed Gill in the 18th over, who departed after scoring 64 runs off 53 balls.
Shreyas Iyer was the new man in, who came to the crease and continued the carnage with Dhawan. The batters kept on smashing long hits and took Team India’s total across the 200-run mark in 32 overs.
It was then in the 34th over, when Gudakesh Motie provided West Indies with another breakthrough as he sent Dhawan back to the pavilion, who was caught by Shamarh Brooks after scoring 97 runs and left the team’s total at 214/2.
Shreyas was then joined by Suryakumar Yadav but the duo could not stand for long as Motie struck again and dismissed the former in the 36th over, with India’s score at 231/3. Sanju Samson came to the crease but the Men in Maroon had another breakthrough in the 39th over as Akeal Hosein bowled out Suryakumar.
Deepak Hooda joined hands with Samson and tried to anchor the innings. In the 43rd over, Samson got LBW on Romario Shepherd’s delivery, leaving Team’s total at 245/5. Hooda was joined by Axar Patel and the duo anchored the innings and provided Team India with the lost momentum.
It was in the 49th over when Alzarri Josephscalped back-to-back wickets and sent both Axar and Hooda, back to the dugout. Later, Shardul Thakur and Mohammed Siraj came to the crease and took India’s score to 308/7 at the end of the first innings.
West Indies now need a total of 309 runs in 50 overs, to register a win in the first ODI of the three-match series.
Brief scores: India 308/7 (Shikhar Dhawan 97, Shubman Gill 64; Gudakesh Motie 2/54) vs West Indies. (ANI)