Kohli reaches 15,000 ODI runs with an unbeaten 139 as India win the Thiruvananthapuram opener

Virat Kohli became only the second batter to pass 15,000 ODI runs and finished unbeaten on 139 as India chased down West Indies with more than eight overs to spare in Thiruvananthapuram

India won the first one-day international at the Greenfield International Stadium by eight wickets, reaching 300 for 2 in 41.4 overs after West Indies had posted 295 for 7 from their 50. Fifty balls were left unused.

Kohli's 139 not out from 88 balls contained 10 fours and nine sixes and was his 55th ODI hundred. Shubman Gill, leading the side, made 110 from 108, and the pair put on 151 in 132 deliveries to settle a chase that had never looked beyond India.

Kuldeep Yadav was named player of the match for 4-40 from his 10 overs on his return to the side, figures that turned an innings West Indies had begun in complete control.

Two boundaries off Joseph

Kohli began the day 59 runs short of 15,000 and reached the mark in the 29th over, taking two successive boundaries off Alzarri Joseph. Only Sachin Tendulkar, who finished with 18,426, has scored more runs in the format.

He got there in his 303rd innings, where Tendulkar needed 377, and he is now 37 years old. The gap in deliveries faced is wider still: 15,950 against Tendulkar's 17,528.

Kohli played down the landmark afterwards. "My focus has never really been on these milestones, so to say," he said. "It's just understanding the situation along the course of just doing the job for the team."

He was more interested in how he had scored them. "It excites you when you have to unlock a new version at this stage of your career," he told the host broadcaster, describing a deliberate effort to raise his scoring rate.

Gill and Kohli take the chase away

Rohit Sharma fell in the 12th over with the opening stand worth 74, and that was the last encouragement West Indies had.

Gill reached his hundred and was then removed by Roston Chase, by which point the required rate had been broken. Ruturaj Gaikwad saw the rest of it out alongside Kohli.

India lost two wickets in the innings. West Indies had no answer once Kohli began clearing the ropes, his nine sixes a personal best in the format.

Greaves reaches a maiden hundred

West Indies had earlier been given a platform worth far more than 295. Justin Greaves made 101 from 108 balls for a maiden ODI century, and John Campbell's 62 helped carry an opening stand of 135 from 117 deliveries.

Gill had put West Indies in after winning the toss, and for 20 overs the decision looked a poor one.

Amir Jangoo's 58 not out from 43 balls late in the innings rescued a total that had drifted, but it left West Indies short of where the first hour had pointed.

Kuldeep turns the middle overs

The change came when Kuldeep removed Campbell in the 20th over. West Indies lost their grip through the middle period and never regained the tempo of the opening stand.

His four wickets came at a cost of four an over on a surface offering little, and they were the difference between a target India had to work at and one they overhauled at leisure.

What it means for the series

India lead the three-match series 1-0, with the second one-dayer to follow.

West Indies arrived without much recent one-day form and their captain had set expectations accordingly. "Playing India in their backyard is always a challenge," Shai Hope said before the match. "It's one that we definitely need to grasp and embrace."

For India, the win doubles as an early marker in a home season being read against the 2027 World Cup, and as evidence that their two senior batters remain central to it.

Scorecard: West Indies 295 for 7 (Greaves 101, Campbell 62, Jangoo 58*, Kuldeep 4-40) lost to India 300 for 2 in 41.4 overs (Kohli 139*, Gill 110) by eight wickets.

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