India vs West Indies, 1st T20I Highlights: Rohit Sharma, Ravi Bishnoi shine in Team India's 6-wicket win

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Kolkata, February 16: Team India defeated West Indies by six wickets in the opening T20 International on Wednesday (February 16) and went 1-nil up in the three-match series here at Eden Gardens.

An unbeaten 48-run stand between Venkatesh Iyer and Suryakumar Yadav helped India claim a confident victory and the duo showcased their ability to soak up pressure and bat well.

The target of 158 was never going to be a challenging one for this dominant Indian batting line up but the dismissal of Ishan Kishan, Virat Kohli and Rishabh Pant in quick succession in the middle overs heightened the nerves.

The visitors tried to push the hosts on the backfoot from that stage but SKY and Venkatesh took their time and rotated the strike well and kept punishing those loose deliveries from the West Indies bowlers and kept releasing the pressure. In the end, Iyer hit a maximum off Fabian Allen to seal a confident win.

Earlier, captain Rohit Sharma gave India a blistering start in the run chase as he scored aggressively to help the hosts score 58 without a loss in the powerplay. Before getting dismissed for 40 off 19 deliveries, Rohit hit four boundaries and three sixes and had laid the foundation for an emphatic victory.

While his opening partner Ishan Kishan took his time to settle down but failed to convert it into a big knock. Kishan scored 35 off 42 deliveries while trying to up the ante against Chase.

The left-handed batsman never looked in his elements tonight as he kept struggling all through his innings. He was dismissed on the final delivery of the 12th over as he was caught in the deep by Fabian Allen off Chase - who picked up both the wickets for his side.

In the very next over, India lost another big wicket when set Virat Kohli was dismissed by Fabian Allen for 17. Kohli attempted a lofted shot over long-off but there was no power and Pollard pouched it comfortably as India lost their third wicket. Kohli's shot selection at that stage was debatable as there was no need for that shot. With his shot, the former captain sent a message that he's looking to attempt something different.

Soon after, Sheldon Cottrell ended the short partnership between Rishabh Pant and Suryakumar Yadav when he got the Indian vice-captain caught at short fine-leg for 8. It was another soft-dismissal from Pant as he tried to hole the left-arm quick out for a boundary down the leg side, but couldn't time it well only to be caught inside the 30-yard circle.

Earlier in the day, Nicholas Pooran anchored the West Indies innings with his second T20I fifty against Indians. Pooran got an early reprieve in the innings when Ravi Bishnoi stepped over the boundary rope after taking the catch at long-off. The left-handed batsman - who would have been in the dugout for 8 - made most of the breather and slammed a brilliant fifty.

Pooran, who had fetched a staggering 10.75 crore deal in the IPL mega auction, returned to form with a 43-ball 61 to anchor the innings. The southpaw was dismissed by Harshal Patel in the 18th over but his knock was laced with five sixes.

Debutant Bishnoi, however, made amends with the ball as he picked up two wickets in a single over when he dismissed Roston Chase and Rovman Powell cheaply. The Indian bowlers kept West Indies batters silent as they prevented the big-hitting visitors from scoring and restricted them to 157.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar - who started the proceedings with the ball for India - struck in the very first over when he got Brendon King caught at backward point on the fifth delivery of the match. The senior right-arm pacer did well with the ball and conceded 31 runs from his full quota of 4 overs.

Deepak Chahar - who shared the new ball with Bhuvneshwar - returned with figures of 1/28 from three overs. Harshal Patel - who was one of the most expensive buys in the recently concluded IPL 2022 Auction - picked up a couple of wickets and returned with figures of 2/37. The right-arm pacer from Haryana ended the knock of dangerous-looking Nicholas Pooran and also dismissed Odean (4) on the final delivery of the innings.

Bishnoi had a dream debut taking two for 17 in his four overs. The debutant was also named the player of the match for his performance. While senior wrist-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal returned with figures of 1/34 from his four overs.

Another IPL recruit Kyle Mayers (31 off 24 balls) gave the team early impetus while opening the batting. Skipper Pollard (24 off 19) provided the late charge with some big hits lower down the order. However, his decision to promote Chase, Powell and Hossain backfired.