Virat Kohli scored 139 not out off 88 balls as India secured an eight-wicket victory over West Indies in the first ODI of the series. Kohli became only the second batter, after Sachin Tendulkar, to reach 15,000 runs in men’s one-day international (ODI) cricket.
In the match held on Sunday, Kohli's performance, alongside Shubman Gill's 110 runs, helped India chase down a target of 296 with 50 balls remaining, taking a 1-0 lead in the three-match ODI series. Kohli's milestone comes shortly after he announced plans to retire from national duty following next year's 50-over World Cup. He has already retired from T20 internationals and Test cricket, now focusing solely on the 50-over format.
Rohit Sharma and Gill began the innings with a 74-run opening partnership before Sharma was dismissed in the 12th over. Gill, currently the world’s top-ranked ODI batter, maintained an aggressive approach and reached his 10th ODI century. Kohli, batting at number three, recorded his 86th international century, and together with Gill, they formed a 151-run partnership off 132 balls that significantly contributed to India's victory.
After Gill was dismissed by Roston Chase, Ruturaj Gaikwad added 13 runs, assisting Kohli in completing the chase without further issues. Kohli finished the match with consecutive boundaries.
Earlier, West Indies, batting first, had a strong start with Justin Greaves and John Campbell adding 135 runs for the opening wicket. India struggled to break through until Kuldeep Yadav dismissed Campbell in the 20th over. Yadav and Prasidh Krishna then restricted the West Indies, who lost four wickets for 22 runs between the 31st and 36th overs. Yadav concluded with figures of 4-40 on his ODI return, while Amir Jangoo countered with 58 runs off 43 balls, helping West Indies post a total of 295 runs.