Kuldeep Yadav's four wickets on ODI return break West Indies open in Thiruvananthapuram

Kuldeep Yadav took 4-40 on his first one-day international since the English summer, turning West Indies from 135 without loss into 295 for 7 at Thiruvananthapuram

India won the opening match of the three-match series by eight wickets on Sunday, chasing 296 at Greenfield International Stadium with 50 balls to spare. The centuries that finished the job belonged to Shubman Gill and Virat Kohli, but the contest had already turned during the West Indies innings.

West Indies were 135 without loss in the 20th over, untroubled since India won the toss and chose to bowl. Kuldeep Yadav then removed John Campbell, and by the time his spell was done he had four wickets from 10 overs, one of them a maiden.

He was named player of the match ahead of two centurions, an award he said afterwards he had been uncomfortable accepting.

Breaking the opening stand

Campbell and Justin Greaves added 135 for the first wicket, an opening partnership that took West Indies through the powerplay without a scare. Campbell made 62 from 60 balls; Greaves went on to a maiden ODI hundred, 101 from 108.

Kuldeep ended the stand in the 20th over when he dismissed Campbell. Shai Hope, the West Indies captain, followed for 12 not long after.

Greaves was Kuldeep's third wicket, and Jewel Andrew his fourth, gone for a duck to the very next delivery. Keacy Carty had already departed for 13.

A side that had been 135 without loss was 198 for 5, and the innings never recovered its early shape.

A spell built on rhythm

Kuldeep put the spell down to feel rather than any change of method. "I was very calm in my rhythm and just trying to bowl whatever I felt like bowling, just varying the pace, variations were superb," he said.

"When you are comfortable and when you are in good flow, then everything looks so good," he added.

His 10 overs cost 40, an economy rate of four an over on an afternoon when the rest of the attack was handled more freely.

Jangoo salvages the total

From 198 for 5, Amir Jangoo gave the innings a finish, striking an unbeaten 58 from 43 balls to carry West Indies to 295 for 7 from their 50 overs. Roston Chase made 24.

Prasidh Krishna took 2-60 and Nitish Kumar Reddy one wicket as India's seamers were worked around the ground either side of Kuldeep's spell.

The total was a defendable one on the face of it. It was also close to 50 runs short of what the opening stand had promised.

The chase never stalls

Rohit Sharma made 32 from 35 balls before Alzarri Joseph dismissed him, and that was as close as West Indies came to a foothold.

Gill, captaining the side, made 110 from 108 balls. Kohli finished unbeaten on 139 from 88, with 10 fours and nine sixes, and the pair put on 151 for the second wicket.

India were 300 for 2 when the chase ended in the 42nd over, the target passed with more than eight overs unused.

Back in the one-day plans

Kuldeep has been in and out of India's sides across formats and did not play the ODI series in England in July, which made the timing of this spell useful to him and to a selection panel looking towards the 2027 World Cup.

The player-of-the-match award still sat awkwardly. "It feels awkward to receive the Man of the Match award seeing the way Virat batted, it was an outstanding inning," he said.

"I actually loved the batting from Shubman and Virat bhai, it was a special inning from them," he added.

India lead the series 1-0.

Scorecard: West Indies 295 for 7 in 50 overs (Greaves 101, Campbell 62, Jangoo 58 not out; Kuldeep Yadav 4-40, Prasidh Krishna 2-60) lost to India 300 for 2 in 41.4 overs (Kohli 139 not out, Gill 110) by eight wickets.

Catch the match live updates, highlights, and full match coverage on CricRadio. Get fast, accurate, and ad-free updates throughout the game. Download the CricRadio app from the Play Store to stay connected. You can also get the live scores of cricket series directly on the CricRadio website for real-time coverage.