India vs West Indies 1st T20: India beat West Indies by 5 wickets to take 1-0 series lead

The first T20 at Kolkata turned out to be a thriller after the West Indies were dismissed for a score of just 109. India recorded a nervy five-wicket win on the back of a 34 ball 31 by Dinesh Karthik.

Image Credits: Twitter/@BCCI

The first T20 between India and West Indies at Eden Gardens, Kolkata turned out to be a thriller after the West Indies were dismissed for a score of just 109 after being put in to bat first by skipper Rohit Sharma. 

The West Indies never really managed to make their presence felt, losing wickets at regular intervals. Shai Hope and Shimron Hetmyer had another day to forget, crumbling cheaply which set the stage for an embarrasing collapse. 

Kuldeep Yadav was the pick of the bowlers, picking 3 wickets with seamers Jasprit Bumrah and Khaleel Ahmed contributing effectively as well.

However, the Windies fought hard to dismiss the openers early, exposing the middle order which seemed all set to collapse on a tough pitch.  

However, a vital partnership between Dinesh Karthik and Manish Pandey ensured a victorious chase, with Krunal Pandya providing some valuable support from the other end in the last few overs.  

India enjoy a 1-0 lead in the three-match series and will be looking to ensure similar performances in the upcoming matches as well,

Here are the highlights:

# India win by 5 wickets to take 1-0 series lead! 

# Debutant Krunal Pandya is the sixth batsman in! 

# The West Indies will be ruing their inability to dismiss Karthik who has helped India dominate the chase yet again. India will be looking to ensure a steady chase from now on. India 83/5 (15 overs)

# Wicket! India lose their fifth wicket after Manish Pandey hands a leading edge to spinner K Pierre off a delivery which enjoyed unexpected bounce. India 83/5 (15 overs)

# Dinesh Karthik is the new man for India! 

# Wicket! Braithwaite has ensured a big wicket for the Windies, with the dismissal of K.L Rahul who was looking increasingly comfortable on the pitch. Rahul attempted to put pressure back on the Windies with some quick runs but failed miserably, handing a catch to Darren Bravo. India 45/4(7.3 overs) 

# Manish Pandey is the new man for India! 

# Wicket! India are making a mess of a seemingly comfortable chase with Rishabh Pant attempting an unnecessary big hit off a Braithwaite delivery resulting in a catch to Darren Bravo who makes no mistakes. India 35/3(5.4 overs)

#Rishabh Pant makes his way down at No 4!

# Wicket! Oshane Thomas strikes yet again with an inch-perfect delivery, shattering Shikhar Dhawan's stumps with the opener left in a daze. Thomas is breathing fire and the Windies certainly sense a comeback. India 16/2(2.5 overs)

# K.L Rahul comes down at No 3! 

# Wicket! Rohit Sharma has been dismissed off the first over by Oshane Thomas off a beautiful delivery which left the batsman cramped for room. Wicketkeeper Ramdin made no mistakes, handing an early advantage to the Windies. India 7/1(0.6 overs)

# The West Indies have been unable to make their presence felt with the bat when it mattered the most, registering a paltry score of 109 within the allotted 20 overs. The Indian bowling attack has been sensational to say the least, pushing the Windies till the hilt and forcing them to make mistakes.  

# Wicket! Fabian Allen, the Windies top-scorer perishes in search of quick runs, handing a catch to Umesh Yadav off a deceptive delivery by Khaleel Ahmed who has  done his glowing reputation no harm. West Indies 87/8(17.6 overs)

# Wicket! West Indies skipper Carlos Braithwaite fails to negotiate a turning delivery by Kuldeep Yadav who has been excellent so far, with the West Indies dangerously close of being bowled out at this stage. West Indies 63/7(14.5 overs)

# Debutant Fabian Allen is the new man in! 

# Wicket! Kuldeep Yadav picks his second wicket of the match, tricking Rovman Powell with a deceptive googly with the batsman nicking an edge to wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthick who has been handy with the gloves so far. Windies in danger of being restricted for a low total yet again. West Indies 56/6(12.3 overs)

# Skipper Carlos Braithwaite is the new man in. 

# Wicket! Kuldeep Yadav strikes yet again dismissing Darren Bravo off a slower delivery which left the batsman in no state to negotiate the delivery. Bravo was too early in his shot and ended up handing a catch to Shikhar Dhawan at the boundary who made no mistakes. West Indies 49/5 (10.1 overs)

# West Indies are currently in all sorts of trouble with Darren Bravo struggling to muscle the ball and Pollard, the danger man dismissed quite cheaply. The Indian bowlers will be looking to capitalise on this and restrict the Windies to a total below 150 setting the stage for another whitewash in the T20 series. West Indies 49/4 (10 overs) 

# Rovman Powell is the new man in! 

# Wicket! Kieron Pollard has been dismissed after attempting a big hit off a turning delivery by Krunal Pandya but failing to generate any decent connection on the ball. The dismissal of Pollard is a huge blow to the West Indies's aspirations of registering a big total. West Indies 47/4(9.2 overs)

Celebrations galore for @krunalpandya24 as he gets his first international wicket #INDvWI pic.twitter.com/AYFsHS7Y6p

— BCCI (@BCCI) November 4, 2018

# Darren Bravo is the new man in! 

#Wicket! Hetmyer has been dismissed by Jasprit Bumrah off a quick, bouncing delivery which left the batsman short of room to play his shots, resulting in a catch to wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthick who made no mistakes. West Indies 28/3(4.4 overs)

# Maiden for Khaleel Ahmed. West Indies 22/2(4 overs)

#Kieron Pollard makes his way down to the middle! 

# Wicket! Shai Hope has committed nothing short of hara-kiri by running himself out on the back of some disastrous communication with Hetmyer which has left the Windies 2 wickets down at this stage! West Indies 22/2(3.1 overs)

# Shimron Hetmyer is the new man in! 

# Wicket! First breakthrough for India as Umesh Yadav strikes off the first ball of his second over, dismissing Dinesh Ramdin for just 2 runs off 5 balls. Ramdin failed to handle the pace on the swinging delivery, nicking one down to wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthick. West Indies 16/1(2.1 overs)

# Shai Hope and Dinesh Ramdin are set to kick off for the West Indies while Umesh Yadav kicks off proceedings for India!

All set #INDvWI pic.twitter.com/YkspgjQkuU

— BCCI (@BCCI) November 4, 2018

# WI XI: R Powell, DM Bravo, S Hope, S Hetmyer, D Ramdin, K Pollard, C Brathwaite, K Paul, F Allen, K Pierre, O Thomas

# IND XI: RG Sharma, S Dhawan, L Rahul, R Pant, M Pandey, D Karthik, K Pandya, K Yadav, J Bumrah, K Ahmed, U Yadav

Live - https://t.co/902YX5Ecwq #INDvWI pic.twitter.com/Sd6rkePA9F

— BCCI (@BCCI) November 4, 2018

# Rohit Sharma wins toss, opts to field first

#TeamIndia wins the toss and will bowl first against Windies in the 1st T20I.#INDvWI pic.twitter.com/he5OswpV6t

— BCCI (@BCCI) November 4, 2018

India recorded a 3-1 win in the five-match ODI series against West Indies having ensured a 2-0 clean sweep in the Test series previously as well.    

Skipper Virat Kohli led from the front, ensuring excellent performances through thick and thin with quality support from opener Rohit Sharma who has been in fantastic form recently.    

At the same time, the West Indies certainly made life difficult for the hosts, with dominating performances from the likes of Shai Hope, Shimron Hetmyer and Jason Holder. 

The Windies will be eager to push on and make their presence felt in the T20 clashes with the likes of Carlos Brathwaite, Darren Bravo and Kieron Pollard set to feature.

Squads for 1st T20: 

India: Rohit Sharma (Captain), Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant (wk), Manish Pandey, Dinesh Karthik, Krunal Pandya, Kuldeep Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Khaleel Ahmed, Yuzvendra Chahal. 

West Indies: Carlos Brathwaite(c), Fabian Allen, Darren Bravo, Shimron Hetmyer, Evin Lewis, Obed McCoy, Ashley Nurse, Keemo Paul, Khary Pierre, Kieron Pollard, Rovman Powell, Denesh Ramdin, Andre Russell, Sherfane Rutherford, Oshane Thomas.