(Cricket news) India defeated West Indies by 68 runs to win the first T20I. The Windies won the toss and put India into bat first as Alzarri Joseph made his T20I debut. India on the other hand named a playing XI with Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravi Bishnoi as the 3 spinners while Arshdeep Singh, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Hardik Pandya were the seam options. Ishan Kishan and Deepak Hooda were once again on the bench while Shreyas Iyer was in the team. Once again it looked like Rishabh Pant would open the batting with Rohit Sharma but it was Suryakumar Yadav who accompanied his captain.

India once again tried something different with SKY as their opening batter. He managed to score 24 off 16 balls hitting 3 fours and a six. Rohit Sharma on the other hand played a gem of a knock scoring 64 off 44 balls. He hit 7 four and 2 sixes in his innings as he also became the highest run scorer in the history of T20 internationals. He also became the player with the most T20I fifties (31). Dinesh Karthik did what was expected from him as he scored 41 off 19 balls which earned him the player of the match award. Ravichandran Ashwin provided great support with 13 off 10 balls. Alzarri Joseph picked up 2 wickets on debut while Obed Mccoy, Jason Holder, Akeal Hossain and Keemo Paul got a scalp each. 

West Indies could only manage 122/8 in their 20 overs. Sharmarh Brooks was the only player who reached the 20 run mark as the Indian bowlers never let the Windies settle. India's decision to play 3 spinners proved to be a masterstroke as the pitch was a little sticky and offered help for the spinners. Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravi Bishnoi and Arshdeep Singh picked up two wickets while Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Ravindra Jadeja got a wicket each. Ashwin was phenomenal on his return to T20Is while Arshdeep is proving his ability in this format. West Indies will be disappointed with their batting and will be hoping to come back stronger in the 2nd match.

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