Tarouba (Trinidad), (Asian independent) A clinical all-round performance helped India thrash West Indies by 68 runs in the first T20I and take 1-0 lead in the five-match series at Brian Lara Stadium, here on Friday.
A brilliant half-century by captain Rohit Sharma (64 off 44) and final flourish by Dinesh Karthik (41 not out off 19) propelled India to 190/6 in 20 overs, after they were invited to bat first. Apart from Rohit and Karthik, Suryakumar Yadav (24 off 16) was the other main contributor with the bat for India.
On the other hand, Alzarri Joseph (2/46), Jason Holder (1/50), Akeal Hosein (1/14), Keemo Paul (1/24), Obed McCoy (1/30) were the wicket-takers for West Indies.
In reply, many West Indies batters — Shamarh Brooks (20), Keemo Paul (19 not out), Nicholas Pooran (18) and others — got starts but they failed to score big for their team.
Eventually, West Indies were restricted to 122-8 in 20 overs, losing by a huge margin.
Ravichandran Ashwin (2/22), Arshdeep Singh (2/24) and Ravi Bishnoi (2/26) were the most successful bowlers for India.
Brief scores: India 190/6 (Rohit 64, Karthik 41 not out; Alzarri Joseph 2/46 ) in 20 overs beat West Indies 122/8 in 20 overs (Shamarh Brooks 20; Ravichandran Ashwin 2/22, Arshdeep Singh 2/24) by 68 runs
