ImageSource@BCCI

Rain. Wet Outfield. Bit of play. Rain Wet Outfield. Bit of play. Rain. The pattern ran on loop at the Providence and in the end rain had the final say as the first game of the 3-match series was abandoned. It was that sort of a day at the Providence Stadium at Guyana. When there was no rain there were enough wet patches to keep the players away from the game. When it did start, Virat Kohli won the toss and on a track that had been under covers thanks to persistent rain, decided to put the Windies in.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mohammad Shami made good use of the conditions in the offer. The duo constantly tested Gayle and Lewis with nagging line and length outside the off-stump. Mohammad Shami- bowling around the wicket- could have got Lewis in his second over when he struck the left-hander in front of the stumps with a nip-backer had India opted to review the on-field call.

The heaven opened up again during Shami's third over and when the players returned to the ground after the break, the game had lost three more overs and was eventually curtailed to a 40-over shootout. But as soon as the game was about to get underway the umpires thought the outfield was too wet for play. For the next 45 minutes, there was bright sunshine and no play as the groundstaff tried their best to get the conditions in readiness.

The game eventually started as a 34-over-a-side affair. Ewin Lewis came out attacking post the break. The left-hander pulled Bhuvneshwar Kumar over deep square leg for a six before laying into Khaleel Ahmed in his first over. The left-hander took Ahmed to the cleaners taking him for 21 in his first two overs.

ImageSource@BCCI

Seeing Lewis counter-attack against the fast bowlers, Kohli introduced Kuldeep Yadav into the attack and the move paid dividends almost immediately as the chinaman cleaned up Gayle, ending his painstaking innings of 31-ball 4.

Encouraged by the turn that Kuldeep was getting, Kohli introduced Jadeja from the other end. But, shortly the heavens opened up again, eventually proving to be the final nail in the coffin in what turned out to be a frustrating day at the Providence.

Brief Score-

West Indies (1-54, Lewis 40*, Kuldeep 1-3). Match abandoned due to persistent rain