VISAKHAPATNAM, India, CMC – Inept batting, costly missed chances and loose bowling all combined to send West Indies slumping to their second straight loss in the five-match One-Day series against India here yesterday.
Sent in at the ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium, West Indies were reduced to 170 for nine in the 36th over before Ravi Rampaul’s pulsating, unbeaten 86 and Lendl Simmons’s 78 propelled them to 269 for nine off their 50 overs.
Stroke-maker Virat Kohli then benefitted from two chances en route to a superb 117, his eighth one-day century, as India completed a five-wicket victory with 11 balls to spare.
His 163-run, fourth wicket stand with Rohit Sharma, who got an unbeaten 90, killed off any chances the Windies had of winning the encounter.
India were helped by charitable West Indies bowling. Rampaul snatched two wickets but bled 62 runs from his 10 overs, pacer Andre Russell’s eight overs went for 60 runs and captain Darren Sammy’s four overs of medium pace cost an expensive 30 runs.
The result left the Caribbean side with the huge task of needing to win the next two games to avoid losing yet another series.
Victory was the furthest thing from their minds when they slipped to 63 for five in the 17th over, after seamers Umesh Yadav (3-38) and Vinay Kumar (2-43) wreaked havoc in friendly conditions.
Opener Adrian Barath nicked an away swinger from Yadav behind to fall without scoring off the last ball of the second over of the game and Marlon Samuels (4) added to the Windies woes when he was brilliantly caught by a diving Suresh Raina at third slip off the same bowler at 25 for two in the eighth over.
Darren Bravo (13) added 30 with Simmons for the third wicket but tugged Kumar to Ravi Ashwin at mid-on in the 14th over and Danza Hyatt faced just two balls before feathering a catch through to the keeper off the same bowler with no runs added at 55 for four.
When Denesh Ramdin (2) scooped Yadav to Ravindra Jadeja at cover in the 17th over, the Windies were plummeting fast at 63 for five.
Simmons came to the rescue, striking eight fours and a six off 102 balls and adding 56 for the sixth wicket with Kieron Pollard whose cameo 35 came from 30 balls and included three fours and two sixes.
Pollard struck successive straight sixes off off-spinner Ashwin in the 24th over but lobbed a catch to keeper Parthiv Patel off the next ball.
His dismissal sparked another slide which saw the Windies lose four wickets for 51 runs, with Simmons’ run out leaving the Windies seemingly without hope at 170 for nine.
Up stepped Rampaul to blast six fours and sixes off just 66 balls, to record his maiden international half-century and inspire a record 99-run, last wicket stand with Kemar Roach (24 not out).
Rampaul’s knock was the highest ever by a number 10 in ODIs, while the partnership with Roach was the third highest for the final wicket.
West Indies then struck early when Roach (2-40) claimed Patel (2) off the eighth ball of the innings to a diving catch by Sammy at second slip at three for one.
When Gautam Gambhir slashed a Rampaul long hop to cover point where he was brilliantly caught by Barath one-handed, leaping to his right, the Windies seemed to be in with a sniff.
It all went downhill from there, however. Captain Virender Sehwag survived two chances in his 26 as he added 55 for the third wicket with Kohli who was also gifted two lives before he reached fifty.
Sehwag stroked Samuels down Russell’s throat at long off in the 17th over to depart at 84 for three but Kohli combined with Sharma to secure the game.
Kohli struck 14 fours off 123 balls while Sharma counted seven fours and two sixes off 98 balls.
By the time, Kohli snicked Rampaul behind to wicketkeeper Ramdin, the match at already slipped away from the Windies.
Scoreboard
WEST INDIES
L Simmons run out 78
A Barath c wkp Patel b Yadav 0
M Samuels c Raina b Yadav 4
D Bravo c Ashwin b Vinay Kumar 13
D Hyatt c wkp Patel b Vinay Kumar 0
+D Ramdin c Jadeja b Yadav 2
K Pollard c wkp Patel b Ashwin 35
*D Sammy lbw b Jadeja 2
A Russell b Jadeja 11
R Rampaul not out 86
K Roach not out 24
Extras (lb6, w7, nb1) 14
TOTAL (9 wkts; 50 overs) 269
Fall of wickets: 1-3 (Barath, 2), 2-25 (Samuels, 7.1), 3-55 (Bravo, 13.3), 4-55 (Hyatt, 13.5), 5-63 (Ramdin, 16.1), 6-119 (Pollard, 24), 7-131 (Sammy, 26.3), 8-149 (Russell, 30.5), 9-170 (Simmons, 36)
Bowling: Vinay Kumar 10-2-43-2, Yadav 10-0-38-3, Aaron 10-0-66-0, Jadeja 9-2-39-2, Ashwin 10-0-74-1, Raina 1-0-3-0
INDIA
+P Patel c Sammy b Roach 2
*V Sehwag c Russell b Samuels 26
G Gambhir c Barath b Rampaul 12
V Kohli c wkp Ramdin b Rampaul 117
G Sharma not out 90
S Raina c wkp Ramdin b Roach 0
R Jadeja not out 9
Extras (lb4, w10) 14
TOTAL (5 wkts; 48.1 overs) 270
Did not bat: R Ashwin, R Vinay Kumar, V Aaron, U Yadav
Fall of wickets: 1-3 (Patel, 1.2 overs), 2-29 (Gambhir, 6.4), 3-84 (Sehwag, 16.3), 4-247 (Kohli, 45), 5-248 (Raina, 45.4)
Bowling: Rampaul 10-1-62-2, Roach 10-0-40-2, Russell 8.1-0-60-0, Sammy 4-0-30-0, Samuels 10-1-40-1, Pollard 3-0-22-0, Simmons 3-0-12-0.
Result: India won by five wickets.
Series: India lead five-match series 2-0.
Man-of-the-Match: Virat Kohli.
Toss: India.
Umpires: A Hill, S Ravi; TV – S Asnani.