West Indies make losing start

West Indies got the defence of their ICC World Twenty20 off to a losing start as they fell to a seven-wicket defeat at the hands of India.

Chris Gayle made 34 and Lendl Simmons 27 but the reigning champions found runs hard to come by in Mirpur on Sunday as they posted 129-7 after being put in by MS Dhoni.

India's innings got off to a poor start as Shikhar Dhawan was dismissed for a duck with just one run on the board, but Virat Kohli's (54) arrival at the crease sparked a 106-run stand between himself and opener Rohit Sharma (62 not out).

It was left to Suresh Raina to score the winning run from the only ball he faced to get India over the line with two balls to spare.

The win lifts India to the top of Group Two, with Pakistan, West Indies and Australia having lost one game apiece and hosts Bangladesh yet to play in the Super 10.

Dwayne Smith (11) and Gayle - dropped by both Ravichandran Ashwin and Yuvraj Singh - got West Indies off to a steady start with a 38-run partnership before Marlon Samuels made 18.

But Samuels' dismissal was swiftly followed by that of Dwayne Bravo (nought) - Amit Mashra (2-18) claiming both wickets from successive balls - and West Indies' lower order failed to make any significant addition to the total, with Ravindra Jadeja (3-48) proving to be expensive but chipping in with wickets.

After Dhawan's early dismissal, Rohit and Kohli set about guiding chasing down their target but India's progress stalled somewhat as Kohli was dismissed by Andre Russell and Samuels dismissed Yuvraj.

But Raina held his nerve to seal the victory as India's encouraging start to the tournament continued.