West Indies 54 for 1 (Lewis 40, Kuldeep 1-3) v India
After a five-and-a-half-hour period where only 13 overs of play was possible, the first ODI between West Indies and India in Providence was called off by the umpires due to a wet outfield.
In that period, Chris Gayle played his slowest-ever ODI innings (minimum 25 balls), scoring only four singles in 31 deliveries. At the opposite end, Evin Lewis ensured there was something for the home fans to cheer, blitzing an unbeaten 36-ball 40 that included three marvellous pulls over deep midwicket.
The match itself began 90 minutes after the scheduled start, a delay forced by morning showers. When play began, though, the sun was bathing upon a half-filled Providence Stadium, but with rain scheduled towards the afternoon, it was not long before the first interruption happened.
With Mohammad Shami, around the wicket, troubling the sedate Gayle and Lewis failing to find gaps in the infield, the teams first left the ground after 5.4 overs with West Indies yet to reach double digits. Over an hour later, the players returned to the middle, and Lewis made full use of the wet ball, shoveling Bhuvneshwar Kumar for six. The next over, he creamed 15 runs off left-arm pacer Khaleel Ahmed, a pulled-six over midwicket sandwiched between two flicked fours through the on-side.
The partnership was primarily saved by Lewis’ aggression with Gayle failing to find his timing, and it was eventually Kuldeep Yadav who ended the latter’s innings in the 11th over.
Playing his 298th game – just one short of West Indies’ record-holder Brian Lara – Gayle needed 13 runs to become the team’s highest-ever ODI run-getter, but swinging conditions at the top meant he was either splicing the ball or missing it completely. But while Lewis’ rampage was on, there was hope for the home fans that Gayle would finally break free. But that wasn’t to happen as Gayle tried to take on Kuldeep’s full-pitched stock delivery, and tried to heave it over the leg-side, only to inside-edge it onto the stumps. (ESPNCricinfo)
