Left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav delivered a match-altering spell to restrict West Indies to 295/7 after an opening partnership threatened to push the visitors past 350 at the Greenfield International Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram. Opening batters Justin Greaves and John Campbell provided West Indies a strong foundation with a 135-run opening stand. The turning point of the innings arrived in the 36th over when Kuldeep trapped centurion Justin Greaves in front with a sharp delivery.
Although the on-field umpire turned down the leg-before-wicket appeal, Kuldeep remained convinced and urgently persuaded captain Shubman Gill to signal for a Review. Ball tracking confirmed three red lights, forcing Greaves to depart for 101 immediately after reaching his milestone.
Kuldeep Yadav’s DRS Masterstroke (VIDEO):
The DRS breakthrough triggered a collapse across the West Indies middle order. On the very next delivery following Greaves’ dismissal, Kuldeep produced a googly to dismiss Jewel Andrew for a golden duck, completing a double-wicket maiden. Kuldeep finished his 10-over spell with figures of 4/40, removing John Campbell (50), Shai Hope (12), Justin Greaves (101), and Jewel Andrew (0). The middle-order collapse dragged West Indies from a commanding 176/1 down to 198/5. An unbeaten 58 from Amir Jangoo later helped the visitors push their total close to 300. (IND vs WI scorecard)
Medium-pacer Nitish Kumar Reddy took responsibility for bowling the 50th over of the innings. Despite conceding a boundary off the opening delivery as Matthew Forde was caught in the deep, Nitish recovered strongly to execute five consecutive line-and-length deliveries, denying Gudakesh Motie any room to extend the score.
India subsequently achieved the 296-run target in 41.4 overs, anchored by Shubman Gill’s 10th ODI century and Virat Kohli becoming the fastest batter to cross 15,000 ODI runs. Kuldeep Yadav took four wickets for 40 runs in his 10 overs, including a double-wicket maiden. The DRS review overturned the on-field umpire’s not-out decision, revealing three red lights to dismiss Justin Greaves for 101.
