NO RESULT
1st ODI, Port of Spain, June 23, 2017, India tour of West Indies
Prev
Next
(39.2/50 ov) 199/3

No result

New
IND
Full commentary

3.48pm It's called off. Rain wins in the end. The series is tied 0-0 after one game. India have begun the series splendidly well though. Their batsmen had no trouble in getting through to 199 for 3. Shikhar Dhawan almost cruised to another hundred, before he was trapped in front by Devendra Bishoo. Ajinkya Rahane registered another fifty. Virat Kohli looked largely untroubled. Those were the highlights of game 1. West Indies' bowlers lacked penetration, but kept things relatively tight.

We'll all be back for game 2 on Sunday. Hopefully the weather improves by then. See you.

3.41pm Cut-off time for a 20-over game is 4.21PM, only half an hour away. That should be it, I'd say. A matter of time before the game is called off. Just waiting for official confirmation.

Harry : "How is it that 14 overs was taken off but 5 runs, should one assume India would have made 380+ runs in their 50 overs. " Unfortunately, DLS doesn't take into account conditions.

3.25pm Good news. We'll have a 26-over game, starting at 4.00PM. West Indies need 194 off those 26 overs. That is 35 minutes from now.

However, the rain is back. It's funny, you have to admit. The rain needs to stop in 51 minutes from now.

Rohan: ""Move. Asap. Before England complete their rout again." LOL! You should know better than to call it like that!" My bad.

3.20pm If we don't get word in the next 10 minutes or so, that could be it, for the game.

Varun: "If not as an opener, KL Rahul will be perfect even for no 4, in place of Yuvraj Singh. He can anchor (test openings) and finish (T20s)...he is the future no matter what"

2.52pm Scratch, scratch. Back comes the rain. A drizzle for now. Midnight misery.

The cut-off time for a 20-over game is 4.21PM. We have a maximum of an hour and a half before we HAVE to start.

It's all happening in Taunton. Jason Roy has been given out obstructing the field. Enjoy.

Pushkar Pawar : "That's why I feel 4 innings of 25 overs is ideal for future of ODI cricket! It's major advantage is that it's proves to be ideal in such situations"

2.45pm Still awaiting word about a possible resumption time, if at all. That means the ground is still not fit for play. More for you in a bit. What I can tell you is that covers are coming off

Sanjeev: "In every part of the world, it seems raining and the matches getting delayed." Not in Taunton. Move. Asap. Before England complete their rout again. Liam Livingstone has trudged out.

Joel: "Ideal Scenario for West Indies here is probably a 25 over chase of 188. 20 overs to get 161 - going at 8 an over could be difficult on a slow Trinidad pitch while 188 chase would ensure a slightly lower required rate whilst giving Windies the benefit of a shortened match"

Aksshat Goel: "It's midnight in India and I am still awake hoping to see Hardik Pamdya's fireworks at the end." That won't be possible today, I'm afraid.

2.05pm Some good news. The rain has stopped. The groundstaff are doing their thing. How much damage though to the outfield? We may be in for a series of ground inspections hereon.

If India don't bat again, here are some D/L targets for you. After 20 overs: 161, 25 overs - 188 and after 39 overs - 251.

Naman: "Actually, India will benefit from the DRS here. They were going at 5 runs an over and had lost only 3 wickets. That's good according to DRS. West Indies might end up chasing at around 5.8-6 an over and considering this is not a slogging pitch, it can be trouble for them."

1.45pm Nothing much to say, other than I don't see India batting again today. More and more rain. Not good at all.

The women's World Cup starts tomorrow. How well do you know the stars? Take our quiz and find out

megan: "India's approach to batting gets them 300 most of times but today 36o is what 300 was 10 years ago.. There is no drastic change required. If the start has been good and maybe ask Dhoni and Pandya to do pinch hitting .Dhoni as accumulator is not required ,if start has been good. "

Krish: "Being the first match of series India playing full-strength is fully justified. Would love to see Rishab Pant, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami get the opportunity in coming matches. Wondering why Jayadev Unadkat wasn't picked as he showed great skill and potenial in IPL 2017. "

Balaji: "With all due respect to the WI team, India must have given a huge responsibility to the youngsters by sending an India-A team with Rahane as skipper& resting all the seniors. You could have spotted your No.4s, No.5s & a perfect wrist spinner for WC'19."

1.15pm It does not look good. Lightning, heavy rain, a substandard drainage. We could be here for a while.

Former West Indies batsman Ramnaresh Sarwan turns 37 today. Here's a cracking interview we did with him last year: If I could change my game, I'd take away the hook

Arun: "Cramped schedule, fans' discontent over non-selection of youngsters, resulting in the loss of an ideal opportunity to test the bench strength, a disappointing loss to arch rivals in the final of a major tournament, an unceremonious falling-out between the coach and the team, and, now, the rain. Could this series, have started on a more positive note, for team India?"

Huzefa: "There is merit to India's approach in ODIs. There is perhaps a scope for change by sending in Hardik in the middle overs if the team has got off to a good start. He can make great use of the 4 fielders outside restriction in the middle overs. That could well be the difference between a 320 and 360 for India."

Hussain Merchan: "Totally wrong approach by India. The rules have changed and team India still are not able to adapt the new revised rules of powerplay. I hope the Indian cricket management team sits again and makes the openers and the middle order understand that going after the bowling in first 10 overs is going to keep the team in control of the innings"

12.55pm We now start losing overs. So take out an over for every eight minutes or so, for the next 80 minutes. After that, India's innings is done.

FYI, AB de Villiers is currently back to his fluent hitting best, in Taunton. Feel free to switch over for a little bit.

Manu: "If India doesn't get to bat the full 50 overs due to rain, their stone aged strategy of starting slow, and going for the kill in the last 10 overs will hurt them. WI will have a relatively easy DL target. "

12.40pm Rain getting heavier. And off they go. Too hard for play. It isn't too heavy just yet. More covers come on. If we don't get back in about 30 mins, we will start losing overs.

Jasprit Bumrah was not impressed when his Champions Trophy final no-ball became part of a road safety meme.

Runs before rain - the highlights (subcontinent only) of the 38 overs of play so far

39.3
1w
Carter to Dhoni, 1 wide

a very slow, wide delivery. Called. Too wide from Carter

39.2
1
Carter to Kohli, 1 run

too straight, Kohli flicks to deep midwicket for a run. Nicely played

The drizzle is back

39.1
1
Carter to Dhoni, 1 run

slower ball outside off, Dhoni comes down and shovels a drive to the sweeper cover

Carter to continue.

end of over 397 runs
IND: 196/3CRR: 5.02 
MS Dhoni8 (8b 1x4)
Virat Kohli31 (46b 1x4)
Miguel Cummins 8-0-46-0
Jonathan Carter 1-0-2-0
38.6
1
Cummins to Dhoni, 1 run

gets across for a little nudge to long leg

38.5
4
Cummins to Dhoni, FOUR runs

put away through cover and that is how you deal with a low full toss outside off

38.4
Cummins to Dhoni, no run

loads up the pull, but seems to be a touch too early on the shot - well, a glide really. Dhoni just became a revolving door with the bat sticking out of it. Inside edge and the ball goes nowhere fast

38.3
Cummins to Dhoni, no run

inside edge onto pad, which then ballooooons towards midwicket. Bishoo races in to keep them to nothing

38.2
1
Cummins to Kohli, 1 run

gets in line with a shortish delivery on off stump, glides it to the left of point

38.1
1
Cummins to Dhoni, 1 run

slides into the pads and Dhoni glances it to long leg

Cummins to kick things off again

end of over 382 runs
IND: 189/3CRR: 4.97 
Virat Kohli30 (45b 1x4)
MS Dhoni2 (3b)
Jonathan Carter 1-0-2-0
Jason Holder 8-0-34-1

Here we go. Out come the batsmen again. Confirmation that we haven't lost any overs.

12.30pm The covers are completely off. We're not far away from cricket. Don't have exact time, but we could be on momentarily. No overs lost

Shikhar Dhawan and Ajinkya Rahane's last five ODI partnerships: 83, 125, 56, 112, 132. Highlights of today's strong show are available here for our followers in the subcontinent

12.15pm Good news. Covers coming off too. I don't think we'll lose overs, but who knows? All depends on how quickly we get ready for play.

More video for you: Having played a few too many dot balls, Yuvraj Singh tried to hit his way out on a slow pitch and was caught at midwicket for 4. Watch the action (if you're in the subcontinent) here

Vivek Chandrase: "The change requested by people here is valid and is definitely not on the basis of one match. We really need to bring in supremely talented youngsters who are actually in abundance and play them."

JOE: "Middle over run rate seems to be problem even after getting a good opening stand. Yuvi and Dhoni may shine on their days. But, not consistent in keeping run rate up. It is high time to change the batting order if they want to be competitive with a quality team. "

12.05pm As expected, the shower seems to be showering somewhere else. Covers still on, but this should subside relatively soon.

Playing his first ODI in five months, Ajinkya Rahane began slowly before playing some lovely drives en route to his 17th ODI fifty. Our subcontinent viewers can see highlights of his innings here

Nihar : "Those 2 years(till 2019 WC) are important for Indian Cricket in terms of testing new talents/youngsters. Give chances to new guns and make a great team of experience+young talents for 2019 WC. " I will say this. I don't like the format of the World Cup, although it is the same everywhere. Four years of preparation, and it could all be for nothing if you lose one crucial toss. Don't mind a best-of-three finals, an elongated group stage, and get rid of the semis.

12.00pm While we wait, here's a comparison on the final 10 overs of an ODI innings.

Sachin : "Interesting numbers if same Indian Team plays in WC2019 : Both Indian openers will be ageing 33+, Kohli 31, Yuvi and MSD 37+, Jadhav 34+, Ash 33... Wow that's quite some experience to put on papers but just wondering how much this combo can contribute to score big in ODIs and better not to mention about fielding if average age of your playing 11 is 33 odd years. .. #Sighhhh"

11.42am Is it here yet? It is. Rain stops play. Not very heavy, but enough to prevent cricket. No, no, no! It looks quite awful in the distance, but something tells me (by the way it's come in) that it will blow away quickly. Will it do enough damage to the outfield though? More covers come on. Day games allow us an hour before we start losing overs. This is perfect for West Indies. More updates as and when we have them, of course.

At least, we have a chance to catch our breaths with the return of international cricket to Taunton.

Ankit: "Had been to Caribbean before. This is the hurricane season. Weather forecasts only apply to a certain extent in these days. You can have a really gorgeous day or a completely washed out day. Even if it rains, it can clear out in couple hours with beautiful sunshine after that."

AXH: "Even with a 132 runs opening partnership, the RR in the last five overs is merely 3.2, which is not very encouraging. Now, it is entirely possible that the wicket is playing a bit difficult to bat on as well."

Jmani: "Whenever I hear Taunton, it reminds me of Sourav/Rahul's epic partnership against SL. At that time, it felt like cricket batting couldn't get any faster "

37.6
Carter to Kohli, no run

122 kph, full around off, Kohli comes down and misses his flick. Struck on the pad. An appeal is quickly withdrawn.

37.5
Carter to Kohli, no run

tight around off, kept out with a defensive nurdle. Wanted to hit that through midwicket

The rain isn't far away. There was a 1% chance of rain when I checked yesterday.

37.4
Carter to Kohli, no run

driven to the left of cover. This time no run

37.3
1
Carter to Dhoni, 1 run

the running will good in this stand. Full and wide, chopped towards point. Kohli calls Dhoni through. They make the run in 0.03432 seconds

Arun: "If India are seriously considering taking Yuvraj, MSD & Kedar to the 2019 WC in England, they are taking a huge risk. Investing in youngsters like Pant, Shreyas, Manish, KL Rahul, Hooda, Kuldeep & Siraj, and, grooming them for the '19 WC, makes much more sense."

37.2
1
Carter to Kohli, 1 run

a slower ball outside off, guided wide of point for a single

West Indies trying to get through overs quickly

37.1
Carter to Kohli, no run

nice start. Full around off, pushed back.

The groundstaff gather around the covers. Jonathan Carter will bowl his dibby-dobbly nothings

end of over 373 runs • 1 wicket
IND: 187/3CRR: 5.05 
Virat Kohli29 (40b 1x4)
MS Dhoni1 (2b)
Jason Holder 8-0-34-1
Devendra Bishoo 10-0-39-1
36.6
1
Holder to Kohli, 1 run

short on off, a slower ball. Kohli gets inside the line and pulls down to fine leg for one.

Vikas: "For all of you who wanted to see India's middle order bat, your wish has been granted. "

36.5
1
Holder to Dhoni, 1 run

strays down leg, nudged down to fine leg for one

36.4
Holder to Dhoni, no run

a yorker outside off, left alone.

Dhoni walks out. An average of over 50 still, after 291 ODIs.

36.3
W
Holder to Yuvraj, OUT

finds midwicket! All those dot balls and all that pressure. And Yuvraj feels he needs to do something. Gets across to a nothing delivery on leg. Full on the pads. Since, Yuvraj feels he needs a boundary, instead of a single, he tries to hit a gap past midwicket. All he does is pick him out to perfection. At least, the timing was sensational.

Yuvraj Singh c Lewis b Holder 4 (10b 0x4 0x6) SR: 40

Not a great drainage either here

36.2
1
Holder to Kohli, 1 run

excellent bowling. Sees Kohli walking across and fires in a yorker on leg, worked to midwicket

Gloomy overhead.

36.1
Holder to Kohli, no run

good length around off, played to point. Kohli wants one, Yuvraj doesn't.

As promised. He batted extremely fluently, and as it usually happens when a batsman is in that kind of form, the ball that does him in was quite unassuming. For our subcontinent viewers, watch Dhawan miss a straight one to be lbw 13 short of a century