West Indies skipper Darren Sammy blamed the inability of his batsmen to put up enough runs on the board as the reason for his side's four-wicket defeat against India in the first One-Day International of the five-match series in Port of Spain, Trinidad.

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Opting to bat at the Queens Park Oval on Monday, West Indies found the going tough against the Indian bowlers from the onset and managed to post a modest 214 for nine.

In reply, the visitors achieved the target with four wickets in hand and 31 balls to spare.

"We didn't score enough runs, we kept taking wickets but the total wasn't big enough to put pressure on them (India). It's about going out there and put a challenging total on the board but we couldn't do that," Sammy said.

Asked about his decision to bat first, he said, "It's a turning track and we wanted to have the best of the conditions when batting first.

"Desmond Haynes, our batting consultant, has been doing a good job and we just need to execute our plans properly."

Sammy said his batters need to rise to the occasion and put up a better display in the coming matches of the series.

Ramnaresh Sarwan (56) and Marlon Samuels were the only Windies batsmen who notched up 50 plus scores.

India captain Suresh Raina, who scored a 50-ball 43, lauded his teammates for the all-round display but said fielding is one area that needs improvement.

"The bowlers did a great job, followed by Rohit (Sharma) and Shikhar (Dhawan). The track wasn't good for batting, but we rotated the strike well," Raina said.

"We can do better in the field; we need to show more intensity. It's looking good at the moment; I hope we do well in the next game."

Rohit scored an unbeaten 68 off 75 balls while Dhawan (51 off 76) notched up his maiden half century to help India chase down the target comfortably.

Man-of-the-match Sharma said it batting on that track wasn't all that easy.

"It was quite difficult initially because the track was turning. It was important to spend some time in the middle to play our shots," he said.

"I just want to keep scoring runs and I'm happy to start the tournament on a good note. I'm very much hungry for runs," the right-hander added.