Team India registered a close win in the first ODI of the three-match series against West Indies on Friday and has taken a 1-0 lead in the series. The Windies all-rounder, Romario Shepherd almost pulled off the chase of 309 runs for the hosts with a knock of unbeaten 39 runs but pin-point yorker on the final delivery from Mohammed Siraj restricted him from doing so.
India seemed like the clear favorite for the first ODI and their strong first-innings display only reinforced their opinion. All of their top-three batsmen scored handsome half-centuries as skipper Shikhar Dhawan led from the front with his knock of 97 off just 99 deliveries to help India post a large total of 308 at the end of their 50 overs.
WATCH – Shardul Thakur Takes Two Quick Wickets To Get India Back In The Game
The visiting bowlers started off strongly as well, as Mohammed Siraj dismissed Shai Hope early in the innings. However, soon the tables started turning back in the favor of the Windies as Kyle Mayers and Shamarh Brooks added 117 runs in just 113 balls, as the former raced to 75 in just 68 deliveries. The target seemed to be well within their reach given both the spinners and pacers struggled to breach their guard.
Just when the West Indies started looking comfortable, Shardul Thakur single-handedly put India in the driver’s seat. Brooks was the all-rounder’s first victim as he was lured by a short ball outside off-stump, only to pull it straight down the throat of Shreyas Iyer at deep square leg. Other middle-order batters also kept them in the hunt for chasing the target.
WATCH – Shamarh Brook Takes A Diving Catch To Stop Shikhar Dhawan From Scoring A Ton
However, Romario Shepherd was the star of the show for the hosts as he played a knock of unbeaten 39 runs from 25 balls. Shepherd almost secured a victory for them as the team required five runs from the last ball. Mohammed Siraj bowled an accurate yorker to him and so he failed to score the required amount of runs. In the end, the Indian team won the game courtesy of brilliant death bowling from bowlers.
Here are the videos of the last two overs:
https://twitter.com/Richard10719932/status/1550603034644074496?s=20&t=mxRO-RbyUVXC8L1k5mVlgQ
https://twitter.com/Richard10719932/status/1550603385337917440?s=20&t=KXZTGebSRG_e5kM1sQeScw
Here is how the fans reacted:
Hard Luck 🌴 West Indies !! Romario Shepherd tried hard but couldn't make it into the end . A good ✨ victory for Team 🇮🇳 , they won by 3 runs and take the lead 1-0 in the Odi series against WI 👏#WIvsIND pic.twitter.com/qtHdGhFKaW
— 🦋 Mee23 🙂 🦋 (@2_Meenu23) July 22, 2022
So close yet soo far
Well batted Romario Shepherd!
SIRAJ with yorkers in 50th over has done the job for #TeamIndia #indvswi
Siraj🔥
What a superb last over by that man .
Many questions raised why he picked after a bad ipl but he replied with his Yorkers.@mdsirajofficial#siraj pic.twitter.com/Xut82bEei9— Saiyed Hamza (@Hamzu_18) July 22, 2022
https://twitter.com/itsgautamm/status/1550597704824328193?s=20&t=16-N4VlneiNnhKa6K6LSAw
What a match between India and West Indies,Great fight from Romario Shepherd and Akeal hosein.But Siraj held his nerve and that stop from Sanju was very crucial. Now I can sleep peacefully 😪.#IndvsWI #IndvsWI
— bob the drop (@Sijaankhan78692) July 22, 2022
And the bat doesn't touch the ball!
Brilliant attempt by Romario Shepherd and Akeal Hosein!!#Cricket #IndvsWI
— Broken Cricket Dreams Cricket Blog (@cricket_broken) July 22, 2022
https://twitter.com/CricketIsSimple/status/1550597598431481858?s=20&t=SBfwyvxz8c6On1SVxZVJ5Q
And that's another wicket !
Chahal sends King back as the Windies now look to Romario Shepherd and Akeal Hosein to take them home.
🎯: 40 runs in 20 bowls with 4 wickets in hands#WIvIND #WIvsIND #INDvWI pic.twitter.com/OD0qQspAq1
— Faiz Fazel (@theFaizFazel) July 22, 2022
Feel for Romario Shepherd. He played really well in this match and took the match the last ball. He scored 39*(25) against India while chasing. Well played, Romario Shepherd. pic.twitter.com/Wlq3jl3Oft
— Tanuj Singh (@ImTanujSingh) July 22, 2022
@windiescricket somebody tell Romario Shepherd to keep his head up. He fought well 👍🏾
— wake me up never (@favs_tt) July 22, 2022
Romario Shepherd and Akeal Hosein shouldn’t hand their heads man. They did very well! I was ready to write off the game and they brought me back in it. #WindiesCricket
— Khadija M (@khaddz) July 22, 2022
Respect Romario Shepherd , Akeal Hosein & Brandon King! 👏👏👏 #WIvsIND #VanakkamCaribbean
— Cricket Anand 🏏 (@cricanandha) July 22, 2022
