The Shubman Gill-led Indian team is all set to take on Shai Hope’s West Indies in the first of three ODIs on Sunday, September 27, at the Greenfield International Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram.
The venue has hosted India multiple times in recent years, but just twice for ODIs, with the other five outings coming in the shortest format.
The first ODI at Greenfield International Stadium came in 2018, when India faced the West Indies. India won the series finale by nine wickets to seal the five-match series in memorable fashion.
India’s last ODI at Greenfield International Stadium came during the 2023 home series against Sri Lanka. Much like this time, India were building towards an ODI World Cup and arrived in Thiruvananthapuram having already sealed
the series, taking an unassailable 2-0 lead with victories in Guwahati and Kolkata.
India captain Rohit Sharma won the toss and opted to bat first. He and Shubman Gill added 95 runs for the opening wicket before he was dismissed by Chamika Karunaratne.
Gill and ace India batter Virat Kohli then stitched together a match-winning 131-run stand for the second wicket before Kasun Rajitha dismissed the former.
Kohli and Shreyas Iyer then forged a 108-run stand for the fourth wicket before Lahiru Kumara dismissed the latter.
Kohli and KL Rahul then added 30 runs for the fifth wicket before the latter was dismissed by Kumara. Riding on Gill and Kohli’s hundreds, India posted a whopping 390/5.
In the chase, Sri Lanka could never get going and were bowled out for just 73, with Mohammed Siraj taking four wickets. Kohli’s 166 remains his highest ODI score on home soil till date.
India’s massive 317-run win is their biggest victory by runs in ODIs, going past their iconic 257-run win against Bermuda at the 2007 ODI World Cup.
India returned to the Greenfield International Stadium earlier this year for the series finale against New Zealand as part of their preparations for the T20 World Cup.
