There were shafts of light and hope in a sun-lit arena for the West Indies here on Monday.
Fuelled by the controlled aggression of opener Lendl Simmons (67) and the powerful Kieron Pollard (70), the West Indies reached a competitive 249 for eight in the fourth ODI at the Vivian Richards ground. This was the host's best batting display in the series so far.
The 96-run partnership between Pollard and a stubborn Carlton Baugh (39) – the two came together at worrying 103 for five – infused life into the West Indian innings.
The dominant Pollard, finally, produced an innings that highlighted his potential. The feature of the knock was the fluency with which he struck the ball straight.
Manoj Tiwary's brand of leg-spin was dumped by Pollard over the the bowler's head for the maximum. Soon leg-spinner Amit Mishra was bludgeoned down the ground. The man from Trinidad does possess a languid downswing of the willow.
The tall Pollard's powerful wrists came to the fore when he whipped paceman Praveen Kumar over the mid-wicket fence.
When Mishra, striving for a quicker one, dropped it short, he responded with a pulled six. Pollard threatened to do even more damage before holing out at long-off off off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin.
The host notched up 57 runs for the loss of a wicket in the batting Power Play - taken from the 44th to the 48th over – in a productive phase.
Baugh, who cut Ishant with panache, was finally consumed by Praveen Kumar's change of pace. And the in-form Andre Russell - he eased Mishra over long-off for a sweet six - raced to 25 off a mere 14 deliveries. He was splendidly held by a sprinting Virat Kohli at long-on off the crafty Praveen.
Suresh Raina opted to chase and soon Ishant Sharma, in his first outing of the series, was steaming in. The lanky right-armer worked up a lively pace – there was a measure of bounce and carry from the surface - although he was also a tad rusty.
He encountered success straightaway. Ishant got a delivery to climb off a length and Danza Hyatt, unable to bring his top hand into play to lend him a measure of control, fended into backward point's hands.
The new opening combination for the West Indies had come unstuck. At the other end, Praveen Kumar bowled with precision, neither offering length or width to the batsmen to strike.
The sunny conditions here were not conducive to swing but Praveen, with his strong wrist action, did get a few deliveries to wobble in the air.
The delivery that fetched him a wicket was however ordinary. The ball was a touch short, wide and deviated further away from the right-handed Ramnaresh Sarwan.
A cricketer's strength can, on occasions, prove his weakness. Not many batsmen essay the cut as well as Sarwan does.
On this occasion, he miscued to be caught at point. Once again, the West Indies was in early trouble at 12 for two in the fifth over.
At the other end, Simmons, a more organised batsman than many of his compatriots, picked the length early to pull Ishant to the fence.
The strokeful Simmons was also willing to take his chances. He got on to his front foot to wrist Ishant over mid-wicket for the maximum. The thin crowd at the venue found its voice.
Spells of aggression from Simmons notwithstanding, the West Indies was unable to find momentum in the first batch of 10 Power Play overs; the side was 38 for two.
Gradually, spin came into play and Ashwin, with his accuracy and subtle variations, demanded respect. Simmons, though, launched into leg-spinner Amit Mishra.
He converted the length by dancing down and dismissed the ball beyond the long-on ropes. He then backed himself to strike against the spin and the ball cleared the mid-wicket fence.
After the second batch of Power Play (taken by the fielding side) from over 11 to 15, the West Indies was 65 for two.
The Caribbeans continued to lose ground. The left-handed Darren Bravo sashayed down to Mishra, but the dip in flight defeated his intentions. The younger Bravo needs to focus on his temperament.
Mishra struck again when he won a leg-before decision against Marlon Samuels with a wrong 'un. Television replays showed the ball would have gone over the stumps.
Meanwhile, Simmons who cut Yusuf Pathan with soft hands, reached a well-deserved half-century. The opener was looking good for more when he was sent back by a brilliant direct hit, on-the-run, from Tiwary at the bowler's end.
Then, Pollard made his innings count.
Scorecard
West Indies: L. Simmons (run out) 67 (78b, 3x4, 3x6), D. Hyatt c Tiwary b Ishant 1 (4b), R. Sarwan c Tiwary b Praveen 1 (12b), Darren Bravo c Tiwary b Mishra 15 (36b, 2x4), M. Samuels lbw b Mishra 8 (21b), K. Pollard c Ishant b Ashwin 70 (72b, 6x4, 2x6), C. Baugh c Kohli b Praveen 39 (57b, 3x4), A. Russell c Kohli b Praveen 25 (14b, 3x4, 1x6), D. Sammy (not out) 1 (3b), K. Roach (not out) 4 (6b); Extras (lb-7, w-8, nb-3): 18; Total (for eight wkts. in 50 overs): 249.
Fall of wickets: 1-3 (Hyatt), 2-12 (Sarwan), 3-65 (Bravo), 4-89 (Samuels), 5-103 (Simmons), 6-199 (Pollard), 7-240 (Baugh), 8-240 (Russell).
India bowling: Praveen 10-3-37-3, Ishant 10-0-60-1, Ashwin 10-1-39-1, Mishra 10-3-56-2, Yusuf 6-0-24-0, Tiwary 4-0-26-0.
