The Indian cricket team’s nine-match winning run came to an end after the West Indies held nerve to snatch a thrilling one-wicket victory over Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s men in their ODI tri-series preliminary match here.
Chasing a modest target of 230, West Indies made heavy weather of the chase despite a sparkling knock of 97 by opener Johnson Charles but finally managed to register their second win in the tournament with 14 balls to spare.
With nine points from two matches, West Indies are in with a bright chance of making it to the finals. It was sweet revenge for the hosts, who had lost to India in the course of their unbeaten Champions Trophy triumph.
Kemar Roach (14 not out) got himself a perfect birthday present as he guided West Indies by keeping cool lower down the order. He flicked Umesh Yadav (3/43) towards square leg to bring up the victory in a match where fortune swung like a pendulum.
The foundation of the victory was laid by opener Charles who faced 100 balls hitting eight boundaries and four huge sixes. He added 116 runs for the fourth wicket with Darren Bravo (55) and the victory didn’t look out of sight.
The Indian bowlers made a fantastic comeback as they got some quick breakthroughs before Roach finally sealed it for the hosts.
At the start of the chase, West Indies were in dire straits as they lost both Chris Gayle and Marlon Samuels within the first five overs and were precariously placed at 26 for three.
Yadav removed the opposition’s best batsman Gayle (11) and followed it up with the wicket of Devon Smith (0) while Bhuvneshwar Kumar bowled Samuels (1) to reduce West Indies to 26 for three.
Gayle was dismissed when a delivery from Umesh rose awkwardly and it hit the upper portion of his bat. The resultant catch was taken by Suresh Raina stationed at short cover.
Scoreboard:
India innings (50 overs maximum)
R Sharma c Charles b Sammy 60
S Dhawan c & b Roach 11
V Kohli c Gayle b Sammy 11
D Karthik c & b Samuels 23
S Raina c Ramdin b Roach 44
M S Dhoni b Best 27
R Jadeja b Best 15
R Ashwin not out 5
B Kumar not out 11
Extras (b—5, lb—6, w—9, nb—2) 22
Total (For 7 wickets; 50 overs) 229
Fall of wickets: 1—25, 2—39, 3—98, 4—124, 5—182, 6—197, 7—212
Bowling: Roach 10—2—41—2, Best 10—0—52—2, Sammy 10—3—41—2, Pollard 1—0—8—0, Narine 10—0—56—0, Samuels 9—1—20—1.
West Indies
Chris Gayle c Raina b Yadav 11
Johnson Charles c Ishant Sharma b Yadav 97
Devon Smith lbw b Yadav 0
Marlon Samuels b Kumar 1
Darren Bravo c Dhawan b Ashwin 55
Kieron Pollard c wk Karthik b Ishant Sharma 4
Denesh Ramdin b Ashwin 4
Darren Sammy c Ashwin b Ishant Sharma 29
Kemar Roach not out 14
Sunil Narine c Dhawan b Raina 5
Tino Best not out 3
Extras: (lb2, w5) 7
Total (for 9 wickets) 230 (Overs 47.4)
Fall of wickets: 1—13, 2—25, 3—26, 4—142, 5—155, 6—161, 7—197, 8—211, 9—220.
Bowling: Bhuvneshwar Kumar 7—1—36—1 (1w), Umesh Yadav 9.4—2—43—3 (2w), Ravindra Jadeja 10—1—50—0, Ishant Sharma 9—0—51—2 (2w), Ravichandran Ashwin 10—0—44—2.
Umpires: Ian Gould, England, and Peter Nero, Trinidad & Tobago.
Third/TV umpire : Joel Wilson, Trinidad & Tobago. ICC Match Referee- Jeff Crowe, New Zealand.
