Stand-in captain Shikhar Dhawan helped India snatch a nervy three-run victory against West Indies in Port of Spain as the hosts suffered another home ODI defeat.

Looking to overhaul India's 308-7 at Queen's Park Oval, West Indies were 133-1 at one stage, ideally placed to bounce back from their recent 3-0 drubbing by Bangladesh.

Yet they could not keep up the strong early running, finishing on 305-6 to lose the opener in the three-match series, a seventh consecutive ODI defeat to India at this ground.

Opener Dhawan, captaining India in the absence of the resting Rohit Sharma and a host of senior stars, was named man of the match. He provided the backbone of the tourists' innings but fell frustratingly short of a century when he was caught by Shamarh Brooks for 97 as he looked to cut away Gudakesh Motie to the ropes.

Shubman Gill had made 64 in a first-wicket stand of 119 before he was run out by a direct hit from home captain Nicholas Pooran, and it was Pooran who took a fine catch at cover off Motie's bowling to send Shreyas Iyer (54) on his way.

In the hosts' reply, Brooks made 46 and Kyle Mayers scored a sharp 75 before falling when he reached outside off stump at a wide-ish ball and got a nick through to wicketkeeper Sanju Samson.

Pooran cracked Prasidh Krishna for two consecutive sixes in the 32nd over to raise a slowing tempo, but he fell for 25 soon after. When Brandon King was caught in the deep for 54 in the 45th over, with 57 still required, that looked to be West Indies' hopes at an end.

There was a flourish though, and they were left needing 15 from the final over, with Akeal Hosein (32 not out) and Romario Shepherd (38no) narrowly failing to delivery the necessary heroics.

IYER LANDMARK

Iyer's 54 took him to 1,001 runs in ODIs, making him the equal-third fastest India batter to reach the 1,000-run milestone, alongside Navjot Singh Sidhu who also got there in 25 innings. Only Virat Kohli and Dhawan (24 innings each) reached four figures in fewer innings.

INDIA EXTEND DOMINANCE

India have now won 11 of their 12 most recent ODIs against West Indies, with the only loss coming in Chennai in December 2019. They have won the last four bilateral ODI series they have contested against West Indies in the Caribbean, and can seal a fifth in a row when game two takes place at the same ground on Sunday.

Former West Indies opener Philo Wallace described the feeling of watching the West Indies batsmen struggle against spin bowling as “disheartening.”

“It’s very disheartening to see our batsmen continue to struggle against spin,” said Wallace on the Mason & Guest radio show in Barbados on Tuesday.

The West Indies suffered an embarrassing 0-3 series defeat against Bangladesh last week at Providence in Guyana, a surface known to favor spin bowling.

“They have to find a method of how to play slow bowling. I find it very uncomfortable that our batsmen don’t seem to understand how to play on that type of surface,” said Wallace, who played seven Tests and 33 ODIs from 1997-2000.

The inability to play spin meant that the hosts were unable to bat out the full 50 overs in any of the matches, something Wallace said is not acceptable.

“You can’t consistently get bowled out inside 50 overs. When you find yourself three or four wickets down inside the first 20 overs, you’re going to struggle. They’re not getting the starts from the openers. The middle order is struggling and leaving it to some sluggers at the bottom,” he said.

When questioned about a solution to the problem, Wallace pointed to something that has been an issue for the West Indies in limited overs cricket for more than a decade, rotation of the strike.

“You have to be fit and you’ve got to work around the ball and know your partner at the other end. When you get your ones and twos up front, it will make it easier for the guys at the back end,” Wallace said.

He further emphasized his point by highlighting an innings played by South African Rassie van der Dussen against England on Tuesday where he scored 134 off 117 balls hitting only 10 fours and no sixes. South Africa hit no sixes in their innings and were able to score 333-5 from their 50 overs before bowling England out for 271.

West Indies coach Phil Simmons admits he is pleased to welcome Jason Holder back to the fold after the all-rounder was recently rested due to load management considerations.

The 30-year-old former captain has not represented the regional team since March of this year.  Following his return from the India Premier League (IPL), it was announced that the player would be left out of the team, for the upcoming series, considering a recent heavy workload.

As a result, Holder has missed the team’s One Day International tours against The Netherlands, and Pakistan and a recent visit of Bangladesh.  The team easily won the first series but could certainly have used Holder’s experience and explosive all-round play as they struggled to find their footing against both Pakistan and Bangladesh.

The player is once again available ahead of the team’s series against India, which begins on Friday and Simmons admits he is impressed by what he has witnessed in training so far.

“It’s good to have him back,” Simmons told members of the media on Wednesday.

“He looks fresh, he had some time out of the game.  He has been bowling well the last two days and batting well too so it’s good to have him back.”

  The West Indies and India will face off in three ODIs.

The West Indies will face India on Friday in the first of three ODIs in Trinidad and Tobago but they will be without one player that Captain Nicolas Pooran would dearly like to see taking the field sometime soon.

Shimron Hetmyer, who has not played for the West Indies since November 2021, has been training with the squad but according to the Windies' white-ball captain, the Guyanese middle-order batsman, still has a lot of work to do on his fitness before he can suit up once again.

“He is here doing a lot of work on his fitness and that is really nice to see, the effort that he has been putting in,” Pooran said during a media session on Thursday.

“He wants to play for the West Indies and trainers and coaches working with him, so expect to see him sooner than later.

“I have full confidence that he will be putting on the maroon colours again. He has a fitness test to pass shortly, so he is preparing himself for that.”

Former West Indies batting coach Toby Radford says the team needs to be more adaptable to compete with the best teams in the world in white-ball cricket.

Radford was a guest on the Mason & Guest radio show in Barbados on Tuesday in the wake of the Windies suffering a 0-3 ODI series defeat to Bangladesh.

“Clearly things have got to change with the white-ball because it is inconsistent. I’m sure the talent is there. It needs good planning, structure and organization,” Radford said.

“50-over cricket isn’t won by hitting balls over the ropes. You have to play the pitch; you’re not going to smash the ball over every boundary. On big grounds, you have to look for you ones and twos then when you get on small grounds, you can look to hit boundaries,” he added.

The hosts had a horrid time with the bat in the series, being restricted to scores of 149-9, 108 and 178 in their three times at the crease, unable to manoeuvre the Bangladeshi spinners on some difficult Guyanese pitches.

 “You’ve got to be adaptable and flexible, play the situation, the team you are in front of and the ground you’re playing on. You can’t play white-ball cricket one way in every game and win. It’s not that type of game,” Radford said.

“If you can’t use your feet or you can’t sweep then you’ve really got to get one side of the ball, either stay leg-side or off-side. You have to do something. Just staying one place and allowing somebody to bowl at you and build up pressure is not going to take you anywhere,” he added.

Phil Simmons says West Indies must address their batting frailties in a three-match one-day international series against India.

The Windies were consigned to a 3-0 whitewash at the hands of Bangladesh on home soil and face a huge challenge when they face India.

Nicholas Pooran has endured a poor start to his tenure as captain and India are strong favourites to win a series that starts at Queen's Park Oval on Friday.

The highest total West Indies posted against the Tigers was only 178 and they have failed to bat out the full 50 overs time and again.

Head coach Simmons is demanding more application at the crease ahead of the series in Port of Spain.

"We have players quite capable of batting for long periods, but we need to get it together and hold strong," Simmons said.

"Players like [Shai] Hope and [Kyle] Mayers are Test batsmen, so they have the temperament to bat right through the innings."

He added: "The main thing is how we bat our 50 overs…we have to bat 50 overs and put our innings together and partnerships together.

"Somebody has to be looking to score a hundred and hold the team together. Batting-wise that is it."

Shikhar Dhawan captains the tourists as Rohit Sharma is rested along with the struggling Virat Kohli and paceman Jasprit Bumrah for a series that does not fall under the banner of the ICC Cricket World Cup Super League.

India have won 10 of their past 11 ODIs versus the Windies, with the only loss coming in Chennai back in December 2019.

Holder return boosts Windies

Good news has been in short supply for West Indies, but the return of all-rounder Jason Holder can give them a lift.

The former skipper was given a break for the Bangladesh series and the Windies will be hoping he is fresh and ready to fire on his return.

Holder needs another four wickets to become the seventh West Indies bowler to take 150 ODI wickets.

India can show strength in depth

Dhawan is set to lead a young side as India look to show their strength in depth with the World Cup to come on home soil next year. 

Deepak Hooda and Arshdeep Singh are among the players who will be looking to make their mark in the Caribbean.

Ishan Kishan will also hope to get another chance at the top of the order.

West Indies coach Phil Simmons expects a much better showing from the team’s batsmen ahead of the upcoming series against India.

The Windies line-up struggled mightily against Bangladesh, albeit in difficult circumstances for batting in the most recent One Day International series.  In three matches the team, batting first on each occasion, managed just a total of 435.

The team’s captain Nicholas Pooran was the team’s scorer with 91 runs but scored 73 in the final game when the series was already decided.  Shamarh Brooks was the next best and he totalled 42 over the three matches.  Despite facing superior opposition, India, in another series beginning on Friday, Simmons does not expect such a brutal showing with the bat.

“You expect a better batting performance.  You don’t really want to make excuses and in the last game we showed what we should have shown in the first two games, on what were bad cricket wickets on whole but we expect differently,” Simmons told members of the media on Wednesday.

“We’ve had two days of practice, we practiced yesterday and a really good session today, something that we did not get between Dominica and Guyana because of the rain that stopped us from practicing.  From the sessions I have seen so far, the guys seem to be switched on again.”

West Indies batsman Lendl Simmons has retired from international cricket, according to an Instagram post from his sports agency 124notout on Monday.

The post further said that Simmons had written a letter to Cricket West Indies last Friday informing them about his decision to become a free agent and pursue opportunities on the franchise circuit.

Simmons' international career spanned 16 years. He represented West Indies in eight Tests, 68 ODIs and 68 T20Is, scoring 3763 runs across all formats. He made his ODI debut against Pakistan in Faisalabad in 2006. His T20I debut came a year later against England at The Oval and he made his Test debut in 2009 against England in Port-of-Spain.

Simmons has also enjoyed a stellar career in franchise cricket representing several teams like Mumbai Indians, Trinbago Knight Riders, Karachi Kings and Sylhet Sunrisers.

He is the leading run-scorer in CPL history with 2629 runs from 91 innings including 20 half-centuries.

He also helped the Mumbai Indians to two IPL titles in 2015 and 2017, scoring a total of 1079 runs from 29 innings during his time with the franchise.

Simmons played a key role in West Indies' triumph during the 2016 T20 World Cup, blasting a 51-ball 82 in the semi-final against hosts India. In total, Simmons scored 1527 runs in T20Is at a strike rate of 120.80, with nine half-centuries. 

He last represented West Indies during the 2021 T20 World Cup.

All-rounder and former captain Jason Holder has been named among a 13-player squad to face India in the three-match CG United ODI Series in Trinidad. Holder missed the just-concluded series against Bangladesh to help manage his workload as one of the West Indies' all-format players.

West Indies and India will compete for the CG United trophy with the matches to be played on Friday, July 22, Sunday, July 24, and Wednesday, July 27, at the historic Queen’s Park Oval. All matches start at 9:30 am (8:30 am Jamaica Time/7 pm India time).

Lead Selector, The Most Hon. Dr Desmond Haynes said he is glad to have Holder back playing again.

“As we all know, Jason is one of the leading all-round cricketers in the world and we’re happy to have him back in the team. He will be refreshed, re-energized and ready to go and we can expect to see his brilliance on the field and meaningful contributions off the field as well,” Dr Haynes said.

“We had a very challenging three matches against Bangladesh in Guyana so we will be looking to rebound when we face India in the conditions in Trinidad. We have seen some growth among some players, but overall we need to regroup and play better against the Indians.”

The full squad: Nicholas Pooran (Captain), Shai Hope (Vice Captain), Shamarh Brooks, Keacy Carty, Jason Holder, Akeal Hosein, Alzarri Joseph, Brandon King, Kyle Mayers, Gudakesh Motie, Keemo Paul, Rovman Powell, Jayden Seales.

Reserves: Romario Shepherd, Hayden Walsh Jr.

West Indies captain Nicholas Pooran stroked a responsible half-century and spinner Gudakesh Motie claimed a four-for but still came up short in a 4-wicket loss to Bangladesh on Saturday.

The result saw the Asian team complete a 3-0 series whitewash of the Windies and continue their stranglehold over the Caribbean team in the ODI format, which amounts to an 11^th straight win.  Unlike the two previous fixtures, however, the third and final match proved a more competitive affair.

The Windies were off to another difficult start after losing Brandon King, Shai Hope, and Shamarh Brooks in the first 6 overs and with only 16 runs on the board.  Pooran, however, steadied the ship alongside Keacy Carty, and the two combined to put on 67 for the fourth wicket.

The partnership was, however, ended when Carty was caught at mid-on, on 33, after a loose shot failed to clear Tamim at mid-on.

Pooran then partnered with Rovman Powell to put on another 34, but Powell was clean bowled by Taijul Islam, leaving the team on 117 for 5.  The Windies captain struggled to find partners to occupy the crease and his outstanding innings came to an end on 73, after also being bowled by Islam. 

Romario Shepherd added a useful 19 from 22 and the Windies ended with their highest score of the series on 178.

Islam ended with the best figures for Bangladesh after taking five for 28.

In pursuit, Bangladesh got off to a strong start as Liton Das had an even 50, while captain Tamim Iqbal played his part with 34.  The team found themselves in trouble mid-innings after some rash strokes left them struggling at 5-116, before an unbeaten 32 from wicketkeeper-batsman Nurul Hasan in partnership with Mehidy Hasan saw them home.  Motie had career-best figures for the Windies after taking 4 for 23.

West Indies bowling coach Roddy Estwick insists the team must find a way to cope with Bangladesh spinners after being comprehensively outplayed over two One Day Internationals thus far.

After losing the toss and being sent to bat on both occasions, the West Indies failed to reach 150 in any of the two encounters.  In the first, the Windies were dismissed for 149 in 41 overs, a match they lost by 6 wickets, and 108 in the second, a lopsided 9-wicket loss.

Similar to the previous encounters between the teams, the Bangladeshi spinners had the West Indies batsmen beaten all ends up.  In the second ODI Nasum Ahmed and Mehidy Hasan Miraz combined for 7 wickets.  Mehidy finished with 4 for 29.

“Losing the toss should not necessarily mean that you are going to lose the game. We’ve got to find a way to counteract these spinners and play the spin a lot better,” Estwick said.

“They’ve been causing us a lot of problems but it’s not for a lack of trying, the boys are trying and that’s going to be very important for us going forward,” he added.

“We still have one more game to go and we continue to learn and hope that we can take some lessons away from it.”

Bangladesh has beaten the West Indies in the last 10 straight ODI matches.  The teams will play the third and final match of the series on Saturday.

India stars Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah have been rested for the upcoming five-match T20I series against West Indies.

Leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal, who has the most wickets for India in the shortest format (79), is another key figure rested for the series, which starts on July 29 in Trinidad.

Kohli missed the opening ODI against England due to an apparent groin strain, with reports suggesting he had requested to be left out of the following limited-overs tour against the West Indies.

The 33-year-old has not scored a century in any format of cricket since November 2019, last doing so when he scored 136 in a Test against Bangladesh at Eden Gardens, leading to questions over his form.

Kohli is thought to still be in India's plans for the upcoming T20 World Cup in Australia, though Rohit Sharma's side will do without the batter for the next series after naming their 18-man squad.

Kuldeep Yadav and KL Rahul are both set to return from injuries, subject to fitness, with Ravichandran Ashwin joining a spin department that already includes Ravi Bishnoi, Axar Patel and Ravindra Jadeja.

Hardik Pandya and Rishabh Pant were rested for the ODI series against West Indies, which precedes the T20I clashes, but are in the squad for the fixtures in the shortest format.

Meanwhile, Arshdeep Singh was preferred ahead of quick Umran Malik in the pace bowling department, which includes Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Avesh Khan and Harshal Patel.

India T20I squad in full: Rohit Sharma (c), Ishan Kishan, KL Rahul (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Shreyas Iyer, Dinesh Karthik, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravi Bishnoi, Kuldeep Yadav*, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Avesh Khan, Harshal Patel, Arshdeep Singh.

*Inclusion of KL Rahul and Kuldeep Yadav is subject to fitness.

Bangladesh condemned the West Indies to a second consecutive defeat, this time by nine wickets, to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in their three-match ODI series at Providence in Guyana on Wednesday.

West Indies batsman Shai Hopes insists the team must find ways to score more efficiently if they are to find any success against Bangladesh in the ongoing series.

 The regional team’s difficult run of form in One Day Internationals continued earlier this week, after losing to Bangladesh by six wickets in the rain-affected first match.  Batting first, the Windes could only manage 149 runs in their 41 overs at the crease, a total that was easily surpassed by the visitors.

Despite showing positive signs in the other formats, the West Indies continue to struggle to find any sort of consistency or tempo in ODI cricket.

“We need to find more ways to score, whether that’s picking up more singles or finding more boundary options,” Hope said in assessing the team’s issues from the first ODI.

“It’s important for us to learn that so we can find more ways to put the bowlers under pressure so that when we do get those bad balls we can find some more runs for the bowler to bowl at,” he added.

The West Indies will meet Bangladesh in the second ODI at Providence Stadium in Guyana, on Wednesday.

Bangladesh secured a comfortable six-wicket win over the West Indies at Providence in Guyana on Sunday to take a 1-0 lead in their three-match One-Day International series.

The win was Bangladesh’s first win on their tour having lost both the Test and T20 International series 2-0.

The win also means that Bangladesh have now won their last six ODIs against the hosts, a fact that West Indies captain Nicholas Pooran says the team is well aware of.

“We know Bangladesh has had us in the last couple series but that’s ok. I feel like we’re still going to win this series. We’re 1-0 down but we can come again on Wednesday with better plans and punch back,” said Pooran in a post-match interview.

The skipper lamented the team’s lack of runs on the board in the 41 overs-per-side game, being restricted to a subpar 149-9.

“We definitely didn’t have enough runs on the board. If we had got close to 175 or 200 on that wicket, it’d be interesting to see how the game would have turned out. We also could’ve bowled a bit better in the powerplay. It’s going to be a challenge for us but we just need to keep figuring out ways to win cricket games, especially in the ODI format,” Pooran said.

On the other hand, “Fantastic,” was how Pooran described debutant Gudakesh Motie’s performance with the ball.

Motie took his first international wicket on the way to a tidy 1-18 off nine overs.

“He got his opportunity in front of his home crowd and delivered. Unfortunately, he was on the losing side but the way he bowled nine overs for 18 runs is fabulous and we’re expecting him to continue to bowl like this, not just in this series but in the future as well,” he added.

The 27-year-old Motie, who also made his Test debut on this tour, got his chance in the ODI format on the back of a stellar campaign in the 2021 Super 50 Cup which saw him finish as the competition’s leading wicket-taker with 17 wickets in seven matches as Guyana got all the way to the final, losing to Trinidad & Tobago.