India vs West Indies 1st T20I: Kuldeep Yadav, debutant Krunal Pandya top report card as Windies batsmen go missing

On a spicy wicket at Eden Gardens, India overcame an early stumble against Oshane Thomas to clinch the first T20I by five wickets. Windies struggled to put up a 100-plus total as Kuldeep Yadav ran amok. They eventually made 109 which proved to be too less even while India had their own share of struggles against Thomas and Carlos Brathwaite. A composed Dinesh Karthik and a belligerent Krunal Pandya took them home. Here is our first report card from the T20I series. 10/10 Kuldeep Yadav Kuldeep, the T20 bowler, is a completely different proposition and when coming in after a top-order collapse, he is all the more dangerous. The Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) spinner, on his IPL home track, proved to be a menace for the visitors as he ripped through the middle-order. He removed Darren Bravo, Rovman Powell and Carlos Brathwaite to finish with 3/13 in a brilliant four-over spell. Krunal Pandya Though his International career began with a misfield, Krunal took little to time to blend in. He was involved in a gruelling contest with his Mumbai Indians teammate, Kieron Pollard, and came out on top. The left-arm spinner was tidy with his lines and gave nothing away in a terrific four-over spell that went for just 15. He returned to bat and take India home with a late blitz to top the report card. [caption id=“attachment_5504681” align=“alignnone” width=“825”] Krunal Pandya scored 21 not out and took one wicket on his debut. AP[/caption] Oshane Thomas Thomas’ promising display at Thiruvananthapuram had garnered attention and he continued to hog the limelight for all the right reasons in the first T20I. Thomas sent down a fiery first over where he consistently hit the 140kmph mark and sent back the Indian skipper, Rohit Sharma. Thomas proceeded to remove his bunny, Shikhar Dhawan,and finished with impressive figures of 2/21. Carlos Brathwaite Brathwaite came a cropper with the bat at the venue where he had famously slammed four sixes to take home the World T20 title in 2016 but was fired up with the ball. The all-rounder sent back Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul off back-to-back overs to peg India back in the run-chase. Brathwaite was immaculate with his lines and restricted the Indian batsmen from scoring in a four-over spell that went for just 11. 9/10 Dinesh Karthik With India in a spot of bother, Karthik came to rescue at a venue where he had cracked some fine knocks for KKR in the 2018 season. The wicket-keeper batsman emulated MS Dhoni with a composed, calm innings and took India home with more than two overs to spare. Khaleel Ahmed Khaleel was as impressive as Krunal on debut and showcased his variations. The left-arm seamer leaked just 16 in his four over spell that included a maiden. Khaleel, who hadn’t been a prominent figure in the IPL, seems to have benefitted from his ODI stint. He picked up just one wicket but put on a fine display of T20 bowling. 8/10 Khary Pierre Pierre was impressive on his debut as he sent down four overs in one go and choked the run flow. While a stiffer target could have helped Pierre, he managed to do his best by sending back Manish Pandey with a good catch off his own bowling. Windies would surely want to try the youngster out more in the series. 7/10 Jasprit Bumrah With the debutants Krunal and Khaleel having a field day, Bumrah was left to do little. The Mumbai Indians seamer was as usual impressive with his lines and concentrated on keeping the batsmen on a leash. That Windies managing just 109 with Bumrah playing a minor role is an ominous sign for the opposition. 5/10 Fabien Allen While Allen had a forgettable day with the ball, coming second best to debutant Pierre, if it wasn’t for his efforts with the bat, Pierre might not even have bowled. Allen walked out to the wicket with the visitors at 56/6. He played himself in and took them past the 100-run mark, in the process enhancing his all-round credentials. Allen, though, will want to work on his bowling after Pierre’s stellar show. 4/10 Manish Pandey Pandey wasn’t at his best but, at a venue where he has played a lot of games for KKR before leaving the franchise, the middle-order batsman held one end up. He played second fiddle to Karthik and helped lift India up from a slight trouble. He was dismissed before the formalities were complete but needs to take heart from the resistance he showed in a tough situation. 3/10 KL Rahul After watching the ODIs from the sidelines, Rahul had an opportunity to impress in the shorter format but the batsman let go of a golden chance to make some pressure-free runs. With a paltry target to gun down, Rahul, who had a terrible day in the field, pulled Brathwaite straight to deep square leg to leave India reeling at 45/4. [caption id=“attachment_5504661” align=“alignnone” width=“825”] KL Rahul got out to Carlos Brathwaite for 16. AP[/caption] Umesh Yadav Having messed up his ODI opportunities in the absence of Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar, Umesh Yadav was listless in Eden, gifting 36 runs in a four-over spell, where he looked threatening in just one over. Umesh picked up Denesh Ramdin’s wicket in third over of the match but failed to maintain a similar tempo in the death overs, a facet of his game that caused problems even at Royal Challengers Bangalore. 2/10 Shai Hope After back-to-back ducks to end an ODI series where he had made decent impact, Hope padded up to bat at the top of the order for Windies - an uncharacteristic approach for a T20I side where belligerent batsmen in the mould of Chris Gayle and Evin Lewis usually open. Hope looked carefree from the word go and played a couple of gorgeous shots in the first over. But his joy didn’t last long as he was involved in a terrible mix-up with Shimron Hetmyer and ran himself out. Kieron Pollard In a very un-Pollard like innings, the big hitting Windies batsman played out 11 dot balls and made 14 in 26 balls before perishing to his Mumbai Indians teammate Krunal Pandya. Pollard smashed Krunal for a six over long-on but in an attempt to do the same the next over, he found the fielder to end a bizarre innings. On top of his batting display, Pollard bowled a poor over, conceding three boundaries against Karthik, to let India off the hook. Keemo Paul Windies continuing to place faith in Paul and the youngster continuing to betray them is perhaps one of the untold stories of this series. In another disappointing performance, Paul looked listless even as Thomas and Brathwaite put in eye-catching performances. While the raw talent is there, Windies will want to work on turning Paul into a finished product before unleashing him against International teams against. 1/10 Denesh Ramdin Opening the batting for the first time in International cricket, Ramdin appeared clueless against movement and poked at one from Umesh that shaped away late. The move seemed ill-advised and wasn’t going to work with the kind of approach Ramdin took. Rohit Sharma Captaining in the absence of Virat Kohli, Rohit, who has a fabulous record at the Eden Gardens in the IPL, fell for a single-digit score early on in the run-chase. The extra zip from Thomas found Rohit’s inside edge and the Windies earned his wicket with a smart review. Shimron Hetmyer Windies’ best batsman in the ODIs started off with a bang but given his uncalled urge for hurry, a mistake was in the offing and Bumrah eked that out with a back of a length delivery. Hetmyer was hurried into a pull and top-edged to gift India a wicket. Hetmyer has had a great start to his career but he might need to discover a lower gear, particularly when the team is in trouble. Rishabh Pant With Dhoni being “rested”, the wicket-keeper slot has turned into a showdown between Karthik and Pant. While the former made the opportunity count with a composed knock, Pant threw it away with a wild slog before he had even settled down at the wicket. Pant’s flair is his strength but he will have to fine-tune it according to match situations to develop into the player that India want him to be. Darren Bravo With his side struggling at 49/4 after 10 overs, Darren Bravo, off the back of a fine season in the CPL for Trinbago Knight Riders, looked to go big off Kuldeep and gifted his wicket away. The visitors sorely needed a partnership, but Bravo seemed to be in a hurry to get going and plunged them further. Rovman Powell After a disappointing ODI series where he struggled to kick on after getting starts, Powell had another failure, this time at his IPL home ground, the Eden Gardens. He outside edged Kuldeep to the keeper after a 13-ball stay at the crease that yielded just four runs. The big hitting all-rounder is yet to justify the massive talent he has. Shikhar Dhawan For the third time in the series, Dhawan was undone by Thomas’ extra pace. The southpaw, who had a dreadful ODI series, will need to find some form before he heads down to Australia for the T20Is. His manner of dismissals, more than lack of runs, will worry the think-tank. Rating chart: 10-9: Excellent, 8-7: Good, 6-5: Average, 4-3: Poor, 2-1: Very poor