MANCHESTER, England, CMC – West Indies limped out of the World Cup with hardly a whimper here today, when they crashed to a heavy 125-run defeat to powerhouses India at Old Trafford.
Asked to chase a modest 269, the Caribbean side’s batting fell apart spectacularly to be all out for 143 in the 35th over.
Sunil Ambris, in his first game of the tournament, top-scored with 31 while Nicholas Pooran made 28 but they were only two of three top order batsmen to reach double figures and the only ones overall to pass 20.
Seamer Mohammed Shami bowled brilliantly to finish with four for 16 while pacer Jasprit Bumrah (2-9) and leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal (2-39) picked up two wickets apiece.
The Caribbean side now have just one win in seven matches with games remaining against Sri Lanka and Afghanistan, and with no chance of reaching the semi-finals.
West Indies were slumping at 16 for two in the seventh over after Chris Gayle (6) and Shai Hope (5) fell cheaply but Ambris and Pooran put on a valuable 55 for the third wicket.
The Windies were beginning to claw their way back when they lost both set players in the space of 15 balls with just nine runs added. Ambris played across seamer Hardik Pandya in the 18th over and was lbw while Pooran holed out to long off in the 24th over off left-arm spinner Kuldeep Yadav.
Once the partnership was broken, the innings went into terminal decline as the last eight wickets fell for 72 runs.
India had earlier made 268 for seven off their 50 overs after winning the toss and opting to bat, with captain Virat Kohli top-scoring with a Man-of-the-Match 72 and former skipper MS Dhoni getting an unbeaten 56.
Opener KL Rahul struck 48 and Hardik Pandya a vital 46 down the order, as India rallied after finding themselves 180 for five in the 39th over.
Seamer Kemar Roach was outstanding, finishing with three for 36 from his 10 overs while captain Jason Holder (2-33) and fellow pacer Sheldon Cottrell (2-50) claimed two wickets apiece.
