DHAKA, Bangladesh, CMC – West Indies lost their opening match of the World Twenty20 Championship after producing a limp performance to go down by seven wickets to India, at the Shere Bangla National Stadium here today.
Sent in, the Windies struggled to find momentum against India’s accurate seam and spin attack and had to settle for a paltry 129 for seven.
In reply, India reached their target in a canter off 19.4 overs, with opener Rohit Sharma (62 not out) and stroke-maker Virat Kohli (54) carving out half-centuries.
West Indies were given early hope of a come-from-behind win when leg-spinner Samuel Badree knocked over Shikhar Dhawan in the first over without scoring, with just one on the board.
But Rohit and Kohli combined in a 106-run, second wicket stand to erase any chance of a surprise India defeat.
Earlier, opener Chris Gayle struggled to a top score of 34 from 33 balls while Lendl Simmons chipped in with 27 from 22 balls. However, they were the only two batsmen to get past 20.
India’s new ball pair of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mohammed Shami found generous movement under the lights, tied down the openers and West Indies never really recovered from the slow start.
Then, left-arm spinner Ravi Jadeja picked up three for 48 and leg-spinner Amit Mishra claimed three for 18, to derail the remainder of the West Indies innings.
West Indies were boosted at the end when they managed 21 runs from the final over, the most productive of the innings for them.
