Indians conjure thrilling victory

An Indian win was taken for granted once the hosts restricted the visitors to 211 for nine. But the Caribbeans’ rare resilient streak transformed the match into a muggy scuffle before Rohit Sharma’s composure and the tailenders’ grit guided India.
The Indian innings had a frenzied start with Virender Sehwag and Parthiv Patel going off the block like racing cars, helping the hosts score at nearly eight runs an over. An Indian canter was the finest possibility at that moment, but the game changed when Parthiv’s blinding square cut off Kemar Roach ended in the hands of Anthony Martin at point.

After that, Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli and Suresh Raina returned quickly, some succumbing to the in-dippers of Roach and Andre Russell, and others to their own folly. All in the space of 11.2 overs for just 59 runs. 

On a normal day, such a dramatic collapse in the nascent stages of an innings could have only one outcome – total capitulation. But a familiar tormentor returned to torture the West Indies, this time in the company of Ravindra Jadeja. Rohit was their scourge in the one-day series in the Caribbean a few months ago, emerging the man of the series.

Understandably, he began with caution, resorting mainly to taps and jabs for singles and doubles. But once he gauged the pitch and the bowling, the original Rohit surfaced, a drive off Russell that sped to the fence could be archived for timing and elegance. However, Jadeja’s impatience that came forth in the shape of a cut off Kieron Pollard to give Lendl Simmons a simple catch ended the 83-run alliance.
India were staring down the barrel at 142 for six then, but Rohit added 42 in the company of R Vinay Kumar to resurrect India’s hopes. Both were dismissed in the space of five balls as Windies smelt a big win. But Umesh Yadav somehow sneaked a boundary off Darren Sammy when three runs were needed to win as the Indian camp fell into wild celebrations.

However, the West Indian batsmen, except Darren Bravo, failed to show the same spirit as their bowlers, limping to a sub-par total on a slightly two-paced pitch. It’s quite tough to disassociate the Lara touch from Bravo’s batting, those silken carves through the covers reminiscent of his illustrious older cousin.

There was heavy load on him after the top three batsmen  -- Simmons, Adrian Barath and Marlon Samuels – fell showing bravado. Samules, the most senior batsman in this West Indian line-up, was the biggest culprit, adopting a bizarre open stance and playing recklessly from ball one till Varun Aaron beat his feeble defence.

The signs of a West Indian revival came during the fourth-wicket alliance between Bravo and Danza Hyatt worth 74 runs. It wasn’t the swashbuckling cricket that motored the partnership along, but a prudent approach formed its base. There were pacers Vinay, Aaron and Umesh, the most impressive Indian bowler on the day, and offie R Ashwin bowling tidy overs, and even the part-timers – Raina, Rohit and Jadeja, were at their penny-pinching best.

There was no easy run on offer, but the West Indian youngsters kept their nerves cool to accumulate runs. The blossoming alliance was snapped when Hyatt failed to hear his partner’s screams to stay put at the crease, and set out for a non-existent second run, Aaron’s throw reaching Parthiv before Hyatt.

Bravo had to wage a lone battle, and his dismissal, castled by Raina, snuffed out West Indies’ hopes of a bigger total.

SCORE BOARD

 WEST INDIES
Simmons b Yadav     19
(30b, 2x4, 1x6)
Barath c Patel b Vinay     17
(13b, 3x4)
Samuels b Aaron     10
(11b, 2x4)
Bravo b Raina     60
(74b, 6x4)
Hyatt (run out)     31
(54b, 2x4, 1x6)
Pollard c Kohli b Ashwin     13
(33b)
Ramdin c&b Yadav     14
(34b)
Sammy b Jadeja     0
(8b)
Russel b Aaron     22
(20b 2x4, 1x6)
Roach (not out)     12
(15b, 1x4)
Martin (not out)     3
(8b)
Extras (LB-4, W-6)     10
Total (for 9 wkts, 50 overs)     211
Fall of wickets: 1-18 (Barath), 2-46 (Samuels), 3-52 (Simmons), 4-126 (Hyatt), 5-154 (Bravo), 6-160 (Pollard), 7-169 (Sammy), 8-183 (Ramdin), 9-200 (Russel).
Bowling: Vinay 6-0-27-1 (w-1), Umesh 8-1-33-2, Aaron 9-0-47-2 (w-4), Ashwin 10-1-30-1 (w-1), Jadeja 10-0-42-1, Raina 5-0-20-1, Rohit 2-0-8-0.
Scoring Pattern: 5 overs: 19/1, 10: 52/3, 20: 86/3, 30: 138/4, 40: 167/6, End of Innings: 211/9 in 50 overs.
Power Play 1: 1-10: 52/3, Power Play 2: 16-20: 22/0, Power Play 3: 36-40: 11/1.
INDIA
Sehwag b Russel     20
(29b, 3x4)
Parthiv c Martin b Roach     12
(13b, 2x4)
Gambhir c Ramdin b Roach     4
(3b, 1x4)
Kohli b Roach     3
(6b)
Rohit b Martin     72
(99b, 3x4, 1x6)
Raina c Bravo b Russel     5
(7b)
Jadeja c Simmons b Pollard     38
(62b, 3x4)
Ashwin (run out)     6
(10b)
Vinay c Roach b Sammy     18
(48b, 1x4)
Aaron (not out)     6
(11b, 1x4)
Yadav (not out)     6
(9b, 1x4)
Extras (LB-3, W-16, NB-4)     23
Total (9 wkts, 48.5 overs)     213
Fall of wickets: 1-37 (Patel), 2-41 (Gambhir), 3-47 (Kohli), 4-51 (Sehwag), 5-59 (Raina), 6-142 (Jadeja), 7-159 (Ashwin), 8-201 (Rohit), 9-201 (Vinay).
Bowling: Roach 10-0-46-3 (nb-3, w-5), Martin 6-1-35-1 (w-1), Russel 9-1-29-2 (nb-1, w-1), Sammy 8.5-0-40-1, Samuels 10-0-37-0 (w-2), Pollard 5-0-23-1 (w-2).
Scoring Pattern: 5 overs: 42/2, 10: 55/4, 20: 89/5, 30: 148/6, 40: 186/6, End of innings: 213/9 in 48.5 overs.
Power Play 1: 1-10: 55/4, Power Play 2: 16-20: 20/0, Power Play 3: 36-40: 17/0.