WI vs IND: 2nd ODI – Gayle, Kohli storm into record books

The first ODI between West Indies and India ended in disappointment thanks to the rain gods playing spoilsport. But the second brought much-needed respite to fans in the Caribbean and those at home. A fine century by captain Virat Kohli helped India get to a competitive total. Evin Lewis scored an important fifty, while Nicholas Pooran sparked some fire in an otherwise average batting performance from the Windies. Bhuvneshwar Kumar brought his A-game to the table, dismissing the dangerous Chris Gayle early on. His four-wicket haul sealed the match in India’s favour.

Here’s a look at some of the records that were shattered at Port-of-Spain on Sunday:

King Kohli in action

After going 12 ODIs including an entire World Cup without scoring a century, Virat Kohli finally ended the streak by notching his 42nd ton. Enroute his hundred, Kohli (2032) first surpassed Pakistan’s Javed Miandad for scoring the most runs against West Indies by any batsman. The Pakistani scored 1930 runs in 64 innings, whereas Kohli did so in only 34 (fewest by an Indian batsman against any opposition). He also went past Sourav Ganguly’s tally of 11,363 for making the second-most ODIs runs for India. The Indian captain now has 11,406 runs in one-day internationals, trailing only Sachin Tendulkar (18,426 runs). His 120 is also the highest individual score by a captain against the Windies in ODIs.

Chris Gayle goes past Lara

It was Chris Gayle’s 300th ODI (297 for WI, 3 for ICC World XI) – the most for any Windies player. He had to make it special. His quest for achieving a remarkable feat in the first match turned into one of his slowest ODI innings. But on Sunday, as the crowd and Kohli cheered on the sidelines, the Universe Boss needed just seven runs to unlock another achievement. On the first ball of the ninth over, Gayle took a single to surpass the legendary Brian Lara (10,348 runs) to become the highest run-scorer for West Indies in ODIs. He eventually fell on 11.

Evin Lewis gets into the act

The West Indies opener had a horrid T20I series but found form as soon as the ODIs arrived. In the first match, he struck a 36-ball 40 before rain interrupted proceedings and eventually forced a washout. In the second ODI, he scored a patient 65 – his first half-century against India in ODIs. 

Also read: WI vs IND: 2nd ODI – Kohli masterclass helps India secure 1-o lead