India secured a commanding eight-wicket victory over the West Indies in the opening match of their three-match One Day International series, propelled by a record-breaking century from Virat Kohli. Chasing a target of 296 runs, the hosts reached the mark comfortably at the Greenfield International Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram on Sunday, completing the pursuit with 50 balls to spare.
Earlier in the day, Indian captain Shubman Gill won the toss and elected to field. The West Indies capitalized on favorable batting conditions early on, as openers John Campbell and Justin Greaves put together a solid 135-run partnership off 116 balls. Campbell departed in the 20th over after scoring a rapid 62 off 60 deliveries, including six boundaries and three sixes.
Greaves anchored the innings effectively, bringing up his century before falling for 102 off 108 balls, a knock featured with 12 boundaries. Following his dismissal with the score at 198 for four, the middle order struggled to maintain momentum. However, Aamir Jang provided a crucial late flourish, remaining unbeaten on 58 from 43 balls to lift the West Indies to a competitive total of 295 for seven in their allotted 50 overs.
India’s response began briskly, with former captain Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill compiling 76 runs for the first wicket inside 12 overs. Rohit was caught after contributing a 35-ball 32, hitting two fours and three sixes.
Kohli then joined Gill at the crease, and the pair dominated the Caribbean bowling attack with a 151-run stand off 132 deliveries. Gill notched his 10th ODI century in his 68th match, scoring 110 off 108 balls with 13 fours and a six. Following Gill’s departure, Ruturaj Gaikwad partnered with Kohli to put on an unbeaten 75 runs off just 46 balls to seal the match.
Kohli finished undefeated on 139 from 88 balls, a hurricane innings featuring 10 boundaries and nine sixes. During his knock, the veteran batsman achieved two significant career milestones. Upon reaching 59, he became only the second batsman in ODI history to pass 15,000 runs, joining legendary compatriot Sachin Tendulkar, who holds the all-time record with 18,426 runs.
As his score reached 110, Kohli also surpassed Tendulkar’s record for the most ODI runs scored on home soil (6,976), becoming the first player to exceed 7,000 runs in home international one-day fixtures with a current tally of 7,006 runs. The victory gives India a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.
