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The International Cricket Council (ICC) has imposed 20 per cent fine on team India of their first match free for slow-over rate in the series opener against West Indies, on Sunday. The ICC informed that Indian skipper Shikhar Dhawan admitted to the offence and pleaded guilty. The sanction were imposed by Richie Richardson, who is a member of the ICC Elite Panel of Match Referees.
The ICC further informed that team India missed the target by one over in the allotted time frame in the series-opener on Thursday. Speaking of match, team India won the first ODI by 3-runs as the hosts failed to chase down a target of 309-runs in 50 overs. Batting first, the Shikhar Dhawan-led side posted mammoth 308-run on the back of a brilliant knock from Dhawan, who smashed 97 off 99 balls. Indian opener Shubhman Gill also made a valuable contribution as he scored a magnificent 64 off 53 balls.
Shreyas Iyer too had a great day as he added 54-runs, while Deepak Hooda and Axar Patel made valuable 27 and 21-runs respectively. For hosts, Gudakesh Motie and Alzarri Joseph picked two wickets each for the home side, while Romario Shepherd and Akeal Hosein scalped one wicket each.
In response, West Indies fought hard as Kyle Mayers' 75 and Brandon King's 54 kept the hosts in the game, but some incredible death-over bowling from Mohammed Siraj brought India, back into the game. Hosts fell short of three-runs as visitors took an early lead in the 3-match series. Kyle Mayers was the top run-scorer for the hosts as he scored 75 off 68 balls.
For team India, Md. Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal, and Shardul Thakur each picked two wickets, while skipper Shikhar Dhawan was named Player of the Match for his brilliant knock with the bat. Notably, team India is playing in the absence of senior players like Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya, Rishabh Pant and Virat Kohli.