Shreyas Iyer Picture Credit: BCCI
Mohammed Siraj held on to his nerves to defend 15 runs off the last over and help India win the first ODI by three runs. After posting 308/7 on the board, Indian bowlers restricted West Indies to 305/6 to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series. However, before Siraj came to bowl the last over, West Indies were cruising firmly towards their target and it seemed they would get to it with Akeal Hosein and Romario Shepherd standing strong at the crease.
The hosts were in a good position to win the match throughout, courtesy of a brilliant start by Shamarh Brooks and Kyle Mayers. Despite losing Shai Hope early in the innings, the two batters stitched a fine partnership (of 117 runs) for the second wicket and kept West Indies in the chase. However, twin strikes from Shardul Thakur in a span of 13 balls jolted the chase. The pacer first accounted for Brooks and then got rid of Kyle Mayers in his next over to bring India back in the game.
Thakur got Brooks caught at the deep square to cut his innings short. The pacer bowled a short delivery outside the off-stump which the batter tried to fetch and dispatch in the stands. But Brooks could not time his shot well enough as he played it right into the hands of Shreyas Iyer stationed in that region. With a much-needed breakthrough coming India's way, every player seemed delighted and so was Iyer who took a neat catch.
While the bowler celebrated the wicket of Brooks with high-fives with his teammates around him, Iyer dished out some groovy moves to celebrate. The fielder turned towards the crowd after taking the catch and brought out some neat moves to entertain them.
Watch Iyer's move here:
Shreyas Iyer completes 1000 ODI runs
Before contributing in the field by taking two important catches, Iyer scored a half-century to help India post a good total. The batter scored 54 runs off 57 balls before perishing to Gudakesh Motie. In the process, Iyer also completed 1000 runs in ODI cricket and became the fourth-quickest to achieve the feat.