Dinesh Karthik once again donned the finisher's avatar as the veteran batter smacked 41 off just 19 deliveries to power India to a mammoth total of 190 runs on Friday. Karthik, in conversation with Ravichandran Ashwin on BCCI TV, said that his ultimate goal is to do well in T20 World Cup.
"These are mall tick-boxes that we need to have at this point. But the ultimate goal is to do well in the T20 World Cup." He further went on to say that the team atmosphere has been really calm and credited the coach and the captain for it.
"I think this is a very different team, and I am enjoying this set-up. There is a great sort of calmness that is around the captain and the coach, a lot of credit must go to them." As far as the match goes, India restricted West Indies to a mere 122 to win the game by 68 runs.
IND vs WI, 1st T20I - Match Report
West Indies won the toss and opted to bowl first. Batting first, Suryakumar Yadav came out to open the batting with Sharma. India got off to a cautious start. But after SKY fell, and Iyer departed for a duck, the Indian skipper changed gears and smacked the WI bowling attack to all parts of the ground.
He ultimately finished with a magnificent 64 off 44 deliveries. After his dismissal, India lost track of the situation and went into a shell, but Dinesh Karthik once again donned his finishers hat and scored 41 off just 19 deliveries to power the visitors to a score of 190.
Chasing 191, West Indies were reduced to 42/3 inside the Powerplay. The hosts kept losing wickets at regular intervals, and couldn't get going at any point during the game.
The spinners did the trick for India as all of them were great with their lines and lengths. Ravi Bishnoi, in particular, bowled beautifully.
The next T20 will be played on 1st August, Monday at Warner Park, Basseterre, St Kitts.
India Playing XI
Rohit Sharma(c), Rishabh Pant(w), Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Dinesh Karthik, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravi Bishnoi, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ravichandran Ashwin, Arshdeep Singh
West Indies Playing XI
Shamarh Brooks, Shimron Hetmyer, Rovman Powell, Nicholas Pooran(w/c), Kyle Mayers, Jason Holder, Akeal Hosein, Odean Smith, Alzarri Joseph, Obed McCoy, Keemo Paul
