India v West Indies, 2013-14

At Kochi, November 21, 2013 (day/night). India won by six wickets. Toss: West Indies.

Gayle chanced a risky single to the second ball of the match, was run out by the bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar's swivel and throw, and dived for his ground so violently that he tore a hamstring and was stretchered out of this series and the next, in New Zealand. For West Indies, it was a sign of things to come. His opening partner, Charles, offered a leading edge to Jadeja after a jaunty 42, and Dhoni, having noted West Indies' ineptitude against spin in the Tests, needed no further encouragement to introduce it at both ends; India's three main slow bowlers accounted for eight wickets. Kochi's sluggish, two-paced pitch was far removed from the featherbeds Australia had recently played on - Samuels and Darren Bravo were both aghast at being castled by shooters - but West Indies' total was still unlikely to test a confident Indian batting unit which had regularly breached 300 the previous month against better bowling. Sure enough, Sharma and Kohli fasttracked victory with a dominant stand of 133. Kohli raced to 5,000 one-day international runs in his 114th innings, placing him alongside Viv Richards as the joint-fastest to the milestone.
Man of the Match: V. Kohli.