First Twenty20 International: Rohit Sharma, Dinesh Karthik, and R Ashwin help India to a 68-run victory over Wisconsin

Karthik’s measured attack—an unbroken 41 off 19 balls—helped India reach 190 for six after being called into bat—while Rohit’s 44-ball-64 provided the foundation.

Even before India had to stretch their field, three wickets in six overs ended West Indies’ aspirations of chasing 190.

West Indies’ attempt to surge from the top was so lacklustre that India had no issue forcing mistakes in what ended up being a big 68-run victory for the visitors in the opening T20I at the Brian Lara Stadium in Trinidad.

India deployed four bowlers during the powerplay, including Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh, Ravindra Jadeja, and Ravichandran Ashwin, in anticipation of the West Indies’ furious assault. The strategy was simple: change the speed of the ball and slow down their powerful hitters.

Arshdeep was the first to bat, and after taking a few knocks to the body, he hammered in a pull shot to Kyle Mayers. Mayers attempted a hesitant cross-batted stroke, highest the ball to Kumar around midwicket despite the wide line and noticeably slower pace.

After failing to score off three deliveries from Arshdeep, Jason Holder attempted to knock Jadeja over through the infield in the following over, but the sluggish left-arm bowler placed the ball close to the rough. Holder stepped back after discovering that the ball was whirling and hitting his stumps.

After flicking Jadeja through mid-on for a boundary and smashing Ashwin for a six, Shamarh Brooks was looking good. However, he was too impatient to take on Kumar, who released a stunning slower ball that sailed beneath his cross-batted heave and struck Brooks’ stumps.

West Indies kept opting for expansive strokes, which benefited India, rather than making an effort to thwart the terrible shot selection. Their top seven players didn’t even reach 20.