1-0 to India
Windies kept losing wickets at regular intervals. © AFP
In the end India pick up a comfortable win after the early stutter. Windies fought at the start with the ball but they needed at least 20 more runs to cause more jitters. Krunal and Karthik have completed the formalities.
Pandey falls
Soft dismissal. The balls stop on the batsman and there is extra bounce and the leading edge is pouched by Pierre off his own bowling. India are 83/5 and they should win it from here comfortably.
Game-changing over
Very poor from Pollard. The pressure is off India now. Dinesh Karthik capitalises on the error-filled over with three boundaries and now the hosts need 37 from 42.
Thomas bowls out
Thomas comes back for his final over and concedes a six off a top edge against Karthik as India are now 54/4 in 10 overs. Need another 56 now in the final ten. They are still favourites despite the hiccup but a wicket here will put them under serious pressure.
Rahul's turn now
India's top four is back in the pavilion now and India need 65 more runs to win. This is getting interesting. Rahul pulls Brathwaite straight to Bravo. Karthik is the new man in and India will need his experience here.
Pant falls
Brathwaite comes into the attack and Pant wants to take him on. He gets a top edge and is caught neatly by Bravo and Windies are delighted. Can they actually trouble the Indians here? They have removed three wickets now inside the powerplay.
Thrice now
He has Dhawan's number. Oshane Thomas has done it again. Having already disturbed the stumps twice while bowling to Dhawan in the ODIs, he has done it again now in the T20 format. Pace, pure pace! That was bowled at 147 at a slightly fuller length and it came back in a touch to shatter the stumps. India are 16/2. Rishabh Pant is the new number four.
We will see
Rohit departs
Thomas is breathing fire with the new ball. There is plenty of bounce too to aide him and he removes the Indian skipper. There is a slight inside edge through to the keeper but the umpire is unmoved. Ramdin immediately challenges the decision and the batsman is gone.
Target 110
Windies post 109. On this venue, against this batting lineup, it is not going to be enough but it has given them something. India were clinical with the ball today and never allowed the opposition to settle down.
100 up for Windies
Breaking news! At one point, this didn't seem possible. But Windies have actually touched the three figure mark courtesy some boundaries from their lower order batsmen. They have one over to add to it.
Allen departs
He briefly entertained with a few boundaries pushing that score towards 100 but he has found the fielder at the deep. Khaleel is delighted. It's his first wicket in the format. Windies are 87/8. Can they touch 100?
Kuldeep strikes again
Brathwaite fails to read him. Brathwaite gets trapped plumb in front. Windies love number seven. They are 63/7 now after 15 overs. Got to feel bad for those fans who spent money to watch this live from the venue.
Six down
Kuldeep can actually run through this lineup now. Windies lower order will find it hard to pick him and he has nine balls to do more damage. Rovman Powell edges one to the keeper while attempting a loose drive and Windies lose six.
Five down now
They are going down at a quick rate! Number five falls as Bravo now attempts to take on Kuldeep and finds the long on fielder. This is atrocious from the visitors. They are not putting up a fight. 53/5 after 11 overs.
1st wicket for Krunal
And it's a big one! Have I jinxed Pollard? After smashing Krunal for a six in the previous over, he tries to repeat the shot, only to miscue it and hit it straight to the fielder at the long on boundary. Windies are in deep trouble now losing our wickets before the halfway mark.
Pollard is the key
He has evolved as a T20 batsman. He can bat for longer periods assessing the condition. He was batting on 5 off 17 balls here after the top order collapse but he is composed. He has just smashed Krunal for a six down the ground. Windies are 44/3 after 8 overs. Pollard needs to bat deep.
Hetmyer perishes
Big blow for the Windies. This was short and this was pacy and Hetmyer wants to send it out of Eden. He only manages a top edge that is up there for eternity before landing in Karthik's gloves. Good call by the keeper and Windies have already lost three in the powerplay as Bravo joins Pollard.
Well spotted!
Disaster
Worst way to get out in the sport no matter what the format is. Hope nudges one off his hips towards midwicket which falls just short of the fielder and the batsmen attempt a single. There was never one there and both batsmen eventually end up on the same side. Hope has to walk back to the pavilion. Kieron Pollard is the new man in. I'm surprised. I was expecting Darren Bravo considering the scenario.
Afraid that's not how it works
Early wicket
The move to open with Denesh Ramdin has not worked. Windies lose him early. Umesh Yadav finds late movement and Ramdin edges it to Karthik while attempting to guide it towards third man. Shimron Hetmyer is the new man in and there is some excitement in the air. He tees off with a second ball boundary.
DK with the gloves
Toss - India opt to bowl
Big news is that Krunal Pandya will be making his India debut. Khaleel Ahmed will also be making his T20I debut whereas Windies have three debutants.
Teams:
Windies (Playing XI): Rovman Powell, Darren Bravo, Shai Hope, Shimron Hetmyer, Denesh Ramdin(w), Kieron Pollard, Carlos Brathwaite(c), Keemo Paul, Fabian Allen, Khary Pierre, Oshane Thomas
India (Playing XI): Rohit Sharma(c), Shikhar Dhawan, Lokesh Rahul, Rishabh Pant(w), Manish Pandey, Dinesh Karthik, Krunal Pandya, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, K Khaleel Ahmed, Umesh Yadav
Build up
Yes, the format definitely presents the Windies an opportunity to go home from India with a trophy but are they really that strong on paper? Their skipper certainly believes that Indiaarefavourites. He is returning to the venue where he smashed four sixes off four balls to help Windies clinch their second World T20 title. They are the defending champions in this format but their record post the title win hasn't been great by any stretch. The constant changes haven't helped as well.
Chris Gayle isn't here. Evin Lewis has pulled out. Andre Russell has been ruled out at the last minute and they don't have Sunil Narine as well. Windies do bear a different look and the top performers in CPL 2018 have been rewarded with spots in the squad but this challenge in India is going to be an all new ball game. On their return to the venue where they made history two years ago, can the Windies finally stamp their authority on the tour after briefly impressing in the ODIs initially?
India, on the other hand, will bear a different look too. They don't have Virat Kohli and they have 'ignored' MS Dhoni. Hardik Pandya is out injured and that presents his brother Krunal Pandya an opportunity to make an impact so this isn't a full strength Indian team. Rohit Sharma will be captaining again and he will be raring to go on what probably is his favourite venue in India. With several stars missing and a huge Australia tour looming large, it will be interesting to see how much interest this series can generate among the public. We will find out shortly. Welcome to the live blog for this first T20I. Tweet in your opinions to @Narbavi and have them featured on the blog.