Skipper Rohit Sharma and senior pro Virat Kohli, who have 76 international hundreds between them, decided to give game time to middle-order batters as India beat West Indies by five wickets in the opening ODI, riding on exploits from spinners Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav.
After Jadeja (3/37 in 6 overs) and Kuldeep (4/6 in 3 overs) set it up beautifully, shooting out the Windies for 114 in 23 overs, Ishan Kishan helped himself to a half-century (52 off 46 balls) in India's successful chase in just 22.5 overs.
With 12 ODI matches in hand to find the perfect combination and some pieces of the puzzle still to be fixed before the World Cup, Rahul Dravid and Rohit's decision to give game time to middle-order batters was a welcome move.
