KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC – West Indies made a gallant attempt at victory but still crashed to a 20-run defeat after being undermined by Yuvraj Singh’s sensational century in the opening One-Day International against India at Sabina Park yesterday.
Chasing India’s mammoth 339 for six off their allotted 50 overs, West Indies got up to 319 before being dismissed off 48.1 overs, with most of their key batsmen getting starts but failing to carry on.
Shiv Chanderpaul hammered 63 from 59 balls with three fours and sixes while Ramnaresh Sarwan stroked 45 and Runako Morton, 42, but West Indies lost wickets at key stages to lose their way at the end.
Pacer Ashish Nehra (3-49) and off-spinner Yusuf Pathan (3-56) grabbed three wickets apiece to lead India’s attack and help the visitors to a 1-0 lead in the four-match series.
Yuvraj’s superb 131 from 102 balls had earlier set the stage for India’s victory, after they won the toss and batted.
He slammed 10 glorious fours and seven spectacular sixes in an exhilarating display of hitting, to put a ragged Windies attack to the sword.
Faced with a Herculean task, West Indies started brightly with captain Chris Gayle belting 37 from 33 balls with five fours and a six, in a 65-run opening stand with Morton.
The left-handed Jamaican seemed poised to tear into India’s bowling when he mistimed a pull off Nehra and lobbed a gentle catch to Harbhajan Singh at mid-on in the 10th over of the innings.
Morton, who counted four fours and a six over long on off left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja, carried the fight to India’s bowlers, sharing 35 off 38 balls for the second wicket with Sarwan.
He perished in the 16th over, however, when he was adjudged caught down the leg-side off Pathan, with television replays showing the ball appearing to come off the thigh pad.
Sarwan and Chanderpaul then posted an entertaining 51 for the third wicket, laying the platform for an exciting run chase.
While Chanderpaul was initially cautious, Sarwan played expansively, cracking one four and three splendid sixes to keep the scoreboard ticking over.
The attractive right-hander signaled his intent by beautifully lifting the fifth ball he had faced over long off for six off Pathan in the 14th over and dished out similar treatment to off-spinner Harbhajan Singh, dumping him over mid-wicket for the maximum six overs later.
He lofted Yuvraj down the ground in the 25th over for six but perished the very next delivery, run out attempting a sharp second run with Windies at 151 for three.
Chanderpaul, whose first 22 runs required 35 balls and was devoid of a single boundary, then emerged from his slumber to blast successive sixes off Yuvraj in the 29th over, as West Indies reached 173 for three.
Dwayne Bravo fell cheaply for eight at 188 for four in the 32nd over and Chanderpaul’s heroics came to an end in the 36th, when he whipped Pathan to Jadeja at deep mid-wicket after swinging the bowler over square leg for six the previous delivery.
Debutant Darren Bravo (19) and Jerome Taylor (21) fell quickly to leave the Windies at 250 for seven in the 40th over but Denesh Ramdin and David Bernard Jr put up 44 off 32 balls for the eighth wicket to offer a ray of hope.
Ramdin hit 29 off 26 balls with one four and a six while Bernard got 19 from 20 balls but both fell as the regional side lost their last three wickets for 25 runs off 20 balls.
Earlier, Yuvraj shared several crucial partnerships to leave West Indies chasing a mammoth challenge in order to win.
He shared a third-wicket stand of 135 with Dinesh Karthik, to blast India out of trouble after the visitors had slipped to 32 for two in the eighth over.
Karthik, who opened the batting, struck a measured 67 from 77 balls with six fours and a six.
Yuvraj also shared a prolific fourth-wicket partnership of 86 with captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni who chipped in with 41 from 46 balls.
When Yuvraj became one of Dwayne Bravo’s two wickets in successive balls in the 39th over, India against found partnerships to keep the momentum going.
Dhoni added a further 45 for the sixth wicket with Pathan who stroked a cameo, unbeaten 40 from 38 balls with two fours and two sixes, before Harbhajan Singh smashed 21 from 13 balls with two sixes in an unbroken stand of 41 off 22 balls with Pathan.
Medium pacer Dwayne Bravo claimed two for 66 to be the Windies’ best bowler.
