A dominant India would look to seal the one-day series by taking an unassailable 2-0 lead against a struggling West Indies, who are proving to be a complete mismatch to the World champions, as the two teams square off in the second match here tomorrow.
After a listless performance in the Test series, losing explosive opener Chris Gayle to an injury has added to the woes and worries of the Caribbean side, who now face a do-or-die situation to save the series.
The West Indies were expected to do better in the short format but they have failed to put up a fight as their batsmen continue to struggle.
The reversal of fortunes has eluded the visitors as India cantered to a six-wicket victory with 88 deliveries to spare to take a 1-0 lead in Kochi.
The victory was soothing for the wounded Indian bowlers who were pulverised in the last ODI series against Australia as they could finally exert some pressure on the batting fraternity.
Back after given a rest to heal his shoulder injury in the Test series, Ravindra Jadeja led the spin attack by taking three wickets to bowl the Windies out for a paltry 211.
For a team that had chased down 350-plus totals thrice to win the ODI series against Australia not so long ago, it was a cakewalk as they cruised home by six wickets with 88 deliveries to spare.
Indian trio of Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Shikhar Dhawan have been the force behind the batting as they have shown no target is safe.
Man-of-the-Match Kohli struck 86 in the first ODI and in the process emulated Sir Viv Richards's feat of 5,000 runs from 114 innings as his 133-run partnership with Rohit Sharma (72) set up the chase against the Windies.
