Opener Justin Greaves hit his maiden one-day international century to guide West Indies to 295 for seven in the first of three matches against India on Sunday.
Greaves made 101 and put on 135 runs for the opening stand with left-hander John Campbell, who made 62, to get the tourists going after being invited to bat first in Thiruvananthapuram.
But left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav struck crucial blows to return figures of 4-40, including one maiden over, and make India hit back in the middle overs.
Kuldeep dismissed Campbell to break the marathon opening partnership and then removed skipper Shai Hope for 12 before he sent back Greaves and Jewel Andrew on successive balls.
Greaves raised his hundred with a single but fell lbw in the next over after his 108-ball stay laced with 12 fours.
Kuldeep had Andrew caught at slip for a duck before Roston Chase avoided the hat-trick.
Chase steadied the innings with Amir Jangoo, who made an unbeaten 58, as the pair put on 52 runs for the sixth wicket.
Prasidh Krishna cut short Chase's knock on 24, but the left-handed Jangoo went on to complete his fifty off 38 balls.
The series is being seen as a step in India's preparations for the 2027 ODI World Cup, with a focus on stalwarts Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma – both playing only the 50-over format after their test and T20 retirements.
INDIA: Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill (c), Virat Kohli, Ruturaj Gaikwad, KL Rahul (wk), Naman Dhir, Ravindra Jadeja, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Gurnoor Brar, Kuldeep Yadav, Prasidh Krishna
WEST INDIES: John Campbell, Justin Greaves, Keacy Carty, Shai Hope (wk, c), Amir Jangoo, Jewel Andrew, Roston Chase, Matthew Forde, Gudakesh Motie, Alzarri Joseph, Jayden Seales