Windies trump India in ODIsJOEL BAILEY Saturday, May 27 2006
BRAVO named "man- of-the-match".
BRIAN LARA played a captain’s knock of 69 while Dwayne Bravo had a superb all-round display as the West Indies defeated India by six wickets at the Queen’s Park Oval in Port-of-Spain yesterday to hold an unassailable 3-1 lead in the Digicel One-Day International cricket series.
In keeping with the pattern of the previous three matches, the match looked to be heading to another gripping end, but the duo, both residents of the nearby town of Santa Cruz and close friends off the field, tilted the balance firmly in West Indies favour with a 91-run fourth wicket partnership.
In pursuit of a manageable 218, the hosts reached their target with six wickets to spare, in front of a jubilant, flag-waving crowd estimated at 19,000.
Declaring that this weekend’s matches would be his last international appearances in his native homeland, Lara played his first major innings of the series, lashing eight fours and a six off 97 balls.
The 37-year-old seemed bothered initially by his lack of timing against pacer Ajit Agarkar and off-spinner Harbhajan Singh.
But, as the overs went by, he rediscovered his touch, taking boundaries off the burly off-spinner Ramesh Powar and left-armer Yuvraj Singh before lifting Harbhajan over midwicket for his sixth four, and his 58th ODI half-century.
In the next 16 deliveries he faced, Lara went into overdrive, especially in Harbhajan’s last over, smashing the “Turbanator” for successive fours over midwicket and square leg before lofting a massive six over midwicket.
With the crowd baying for blood, Lara could not resist a flighted ball from Powar and only managed to send a catch to Suresh Raina at long off.
With victory now within reach, Bravo registered his first ODI fifty with a six back over Powar’s head and onto the sightscreen at the pavilion end, while Wavell Hinds, recalled for the injured Shivnarine Chanderpaul, completed the win with a slog-sweep four off Raina.
Before Lara and Bravo teamed up, Chris Gayle produced another belligerent display, in his 70-ball 46, featuring six straight-driven fours and a six over mid-wicket off Shanthakumaran Sreenath, one of the biggest hits on the ground in recent memory, which saw the ball land over the Dos Santos Stand.
But, as is the norm, the lanky Jamaican left-hander lost his concentration and lofted Powar to Agarkar at long-off.
Makeshift opener Marlon Samuels was adjudged leg-before to Irfan Pathan for nine, the lone wicket in a disappointing display for the left-arm fast bowler, while Ramnaresh Sarwan, three days after his match-winning century in his 100th ODI in St Kitts, fell for the umpteenth time to the hook shot, top-edging Agarkar’s second delivery to Virender Sehwag at square leg.
India’s batsmen never got any momentum going on a slow wicket as they were restricted to 217 for seven off their allotted 50 overs.
Sent into bat by Lara, in brilliant sunshine the Indians got valuable knocks of 63 from Mohammed Kaif, 52 from Yuvraj Singh who returned to the team at the expense of Venugopal Rao — and a blistering unbeaten 46 from Mahendra Singh Dhoni. But the Windies bowlers, through their control and persistence, kept India’s run-rate below 4.5 for the entire innings.
The stocky Sehwag lashed two fours off Ian Bradshaw before the left-arm pacer exacted a measure of revenge when he had the swashbuckling opener slash a catch to Gayle at cover.
Left-handed teenager Suresh Raina was also unable to come to terms with the nature of the pitch, as he cut loosely at Bradshaw and was snatched by Sarwan at slip while captain Rahul Dravid followed in similar fashion, this time off Collymore, who was preferred as the third-choice pacer instead of the struggling Jerome Taylor.
At 28 for two in the 16th over, the Indian innings was in dire need of rebuilding but Yuvraj and Kaif were bogged down by tight bowling and alert ground fielding.
The pair managed to produce a vital fourth-wicket stand of 80 in 16.4 overs before Yuvraj nicked a full delivery from Fidel Edwards to Carlton Baugh behind the stumps. The tall left-hander, who was still noticeably hampered by back spasms which ruled him out of Tuesday’s clash in St Kitts, stroked five fours, mainly through gully and extra-cover, in his 78-ball stay.
Kaif and Dhoni mixed aggression with caution against the probing off-spin of Gayle and Samuels, but Kaif’s innings should have ended at 51 when the languid Samuels embarrassingly dropped a return catch.
Kaif added another 12 to his score before he missed a swing at a slower ball and lost his off-stump, the first of three wickets for the energetic Bravo.
The 22-year-old then accounted for Pathan, who was caught by Collymore at short fine-leg attempting a risky reverse-sweep, while Agarkar lasted four balls before he failed to connect on a huge heave and saw his stumps rattled by Bravo.
Dhoni played his first meaningful innings of the series, and took India beyond 200 with an array of thunderous blows off Bravo and Collymore, one in particular nearly decapitating Bravo on his follow-through.
But it was Bravo who would have the last laugh, as the West Indies claimed their first ODI series against opponents rated higher than them since lifting the ICC Challenge Trophy in England two years ago.
