Naman Dhir takes 3-31 on debut as India bowl West Indies out in the Lucknow opener

Naman Dhir took three wickets in his first Twenty20 International as India bowled West Indies out for 171 and won the series opener in Lucknow by eight wickets

India put West Indies in at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium on Tuesday and had them 171 all out with five balls of the innings still unused, a total that two half-centuries had promised to beat.

The change came through Naman Dhir, who made his ODI debut on this same tour on 27 September and was handed his first T20I cap nine days later. His off-spin returned 3-31 and took out Shai Hope, Romario Shepherd and Shamar Springer.

India's reply was never troubled for long. Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan were together when the target was reached, the captain unbeaten on 102, and India finished on 172 for 2 in 14.4 overs.

Hope and Rutherford set the pace

Hope made 52 from 37 balls and set about the new ball early, taking four boundaries off Mayank Yadav in the second over before India reorganised their attack around him.

Sherfane Rutherford went harder still for 56 from 34 balls, holing out at deep square leg off Mayank Yadav once the innings had been set up.

Between them the two half-centuries accounted for 108 of the 171 West Indies managed. No other batter stayed long enough to build a third stand of consequence.

Dhir takes three on debut

Dhir's first international wicket in the format was the most valuable one on the card. Hope picked out deep midwicket, where Axar Patel took the catch, and West Indies lost their anchor in the 12th over.

Shepherd followed, caught at long-off by Tilak Varma, and Springer went the same way to a tossed-up ball taken by Axar at the boundary — an over after Springer had hit Dhir for six.

The 3-31 made him the most successful bowler on either side and gave India a sixth bowling option they had not been able to count on in the ODI leg.

The innings closes inside 20 overs

Kuldeep Yadav took 2-33, trapping Roston Chase lbw as West Indies tried to accelerate through the middle overs.

Arshdeep Singh bowled Kamil Pooran, and Axar bowled Rovman Powell before having Akeal Hosein caught at long-on by Ishan Kishan to end the innings.

Shimron Hetmyer was run out going for a single that was never on, and the last four wickets brought West Indies little. They were bowled out with five balls to spare rather than batting out their 20 overs.

A bowler, not only a finisher

Dhir has spent most of his short India career described as a middle-order hitter, but he has been clear that the bowling is not a novelty. "I have been bowling right from the start. You don't bowl often because of the Impact Player rule in the Indian Premier League (IPL) but I bowl for my state (Punjab)," he said before the third ODI in Mullanpur.

He credited the Mumbai Indians set-up with sharpening that side of his game, and said time with Ravindra Jadeja had given him something to work from. "I spoke quite a bit with Jaddu bhai, and he gave me simple plans to bowl according to the batter and what the match situation demands. It has been very helpful for me," he said.

His method in that ODI was equally plain. "My thought was to leverage the longer boundary for the right-handers. I kept my approach simple, if I got hit toward the long boundary, I was willing to accept that outcome," he said.

Iyer and Kishan make the chase routine

India lost Abhishek Sharma for 21 and Sanju Samson for 11 inside the first four overs to be 35 for 2, the only passage of the night West Indies could call their own.

Iyer and Kishan then put on an unbroken 137 for the third wicket, Iyer reaching his maiden T20I hundred with a straight six over long-on off Chase.

The target was taken down with 32 balls to spare, and India lead the five-match series 1-0.

Scorecard: West Indies 171 all out (19.1 overs); India 172 for 2 (14.4 overs). India won by eight wickets.

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