BRIDGETOWN, Barbados: Left-arm spinners Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja masterminded the rout of an abject West Indies team who were brushed aside for just 114 off 23 overs in the opening One-Day International of a three-match series at Kensington Oval in Barbados on Thursday.
Yadav, the sixth bowler used by captain Rohit Sharma, triggered the capitulation which saw the last seven wickets cascading for 26 runs as he finished with the outstanding figures of four for six off three overs.
Jadeja, a key member of the Test side which prevailed 1-0 in the two-match series prior to this assignment, claimed three for 37 after seamers Hardik Pandya, debutant Mukesh Kumar and Shardul Thakur had done the early damage with a wicket apiece.
Only captain Shai Hope, who was ninth out for a top score of 43, seemed capable of coping with the varied Indian attack after they were put in on a surface which offered some encouragement for the bowlers but could hardly be described as a minefield.
India are counting down to the hosting of the World Cup in just over two months' time while this latest West Indies batting display will only deepen the gloom in the Caribbean after the team failed to advance to the World Cup following a disastrous qualifying campaign in Zimbabwe in June.
— AFP
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