Fifty overs. Forty-three overs. It doesn't quite matter. India are a bot designed to score 300 and not too many more when batting first, which proved to be more than enough against the inexperienced West Indies batting. No team has scored as many 300s as India - 96 - and it was fitting that they took the lead by seamlessly recalibrating their approach in a rain-curtailed ODI.
Ajinkya Rahane got to his third ODI century - the period approaching his hundred was the only slow spell in India's innings, Shikhar Dhawan's run continued with yet another half-century, and Virat Kohli knocked off an effortless 87 off 66. Shai Hope delayed the inevitable West Indies defeat with a fine 81, but once they had lost two wickets before the first run had been scored off a bat, further rain was their only ally. It was not to be.
Early morning rain had left the pitch damp and the atmosphere heavy, ideal bowling conditions that prompted the hosts to invite India to bat. The conditions eventually didn't turn out to be as treacherous as expected, but it didn't help that West Indies' new-ball bowlers never got their length right. They were either too short or too full, getting cut and pulled or driven with ease. There was also more intent from the India openers, who as a partnership have the best average among all pairs who have added at least 1500 runs together. Rahane got going with an upper-cut for a six, and Dhawan loved the driving practice given to him, off-driving Jason Holder for successive boundaries before pulling him for one more in the eighth over. India's 63 in the first 10 overs was about 14 more than what has been their average since the 2015 World Cup.
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