25 overs West Indies 93 for 2 (Sarwan 46*, Bravo 15*) need another 159 to beat India 251 (Kohli 94, Rohit 57, Russell 4-35)
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How they were out
West Indies made a sedate start to their innings, leaving themselves an asking rate of 6.36 for a length of 25 overs. Although they had wickets in hand, the intent just didn't seem to be there to try and work singles off the good balls. It was almost four or nothing with the top order, with most of the shots either timed straight to fielders or defended with hard hands. India faced 149 dot balls in their whole innings, West Indies had already failed to score off 104 deliveries by halfway mark.
While Amit Mishra, and spin generally remained a mystery for West Indies, they failed to hurt the fast bowlers at the start, but were now left relying on the fifth bowler's quota to try and turn the game around. R Vinay Kumar and Ishant Sharma had neither the pace nor the menace that Kemar Roach and Andre Russell brought, but they were accurate and provided fewer loose deliveries. Adrian Barath and Lendl Simmons got stuck, and Simmons perished trying to force the pace, caught off Vinay at third man. Vinay's first spell of 5-2-6-1 was statistically Praveen Kumaresque.
Welcoming Mishra at 25 for 1 was playing right into their tormentor's hands. Even those 25 came thanks to a couple of risky shots played by Ramnaresh Sarwan. Barath, without looking completely hapless, managed just 17 off 46, and could have been caught and run-out twice each before Mishra finally got him with a googly. Darren Bravo came out as a like-for-like replacement. Mishra and R Ashwin's variations were as incomprehensible as the D/L method, and Bravo had faced 28 deliveries before reaching 10. Sarwan had to again take risks at the first sight of part-timers, but he had reached 46 off 56 without getting close to presenting an opportunity.
50 overs India 251 (Kohli 94, Rohit 57, Russell 4-35) v West Indies
Live scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out
Virat Kohli admonishes himself after his run-out
Matches: West Indies v India at Kingston
Series/Tournaments: India tour of West Indies
Teams: India | West Indies
Virat Kohli passed the test of a lively pitch and early hostile bowling to take India to a challenging total despite the late wobble of seven wickets for 62 runs. The pitch was easily the best of the whole ODI season in the West Indies. While the batsmen were tested by bounce and pace, their shots also travelled faster and made for a welcome change from the slow and low proceedings in Trinidad and Antigua. Rohit Sharma continued his good form too, ending the series with 257 runs, but Andre Russell and Anthony Martin kept West Indies alive with their work in the last 10 overs.
West Indies were charged up, both with the ball and in the field, but not always accurate, and twice paid for their eagerness in the field. That said, a special catch by Martin began the fall of wickets, and a superb Ramnaresh Sarwan throw from fine leg denied Kohli a century. Kohli's run-out also started a slow decline for India. While Kemar Roach and Russell provided the thrills, Martin too ended with figures of 10-1-39-1, the wicket being Rohit's in the first over of the batting Powerplay.
Roach and Russell took out the struggling openers with short deliveries before Manoj Tiwary hit out to score a run-a-ball 22. Tiwary had been on 1 when a short ball lobbed off his wrist band, wide of second slip, but Darren Sammy could only watch Lendl Simmons run from gully and dive in front of him. That the umpire didn't signal a leg bye meant Tiwary would have been given out for that.
While Tiwary had to look to manufacture to shots in a hit-out-or-get-out situation, Kohli didn't need to resort to any innovation. You could see he trusted his natural game to fight through the tough conditions. For a man who favours the front foot a touch, Kohli didn't show too many problems transferring the weight back, and more impressively wasn't troubled when the bowlers tried the surprise full ball.
There were edgy moments, yes. Sammy's lack of pace would have meant an opportunity for release, and Kohli was drawn into a drive away from the body. The edge flew wide of slip. Pollard, who put in extra effort on the responsive pitch, got one to bounce shoulder-high from just short of a length. Kohli was beaten, but he did the right thing, dropping the wrists and trying to move out of the line. One thick edge went past gully, another delivery nipped in but he survived the lbw because of the extra bounce. Even as late as the 22nd over, he was sold a dummy by Rohit, but Adrian Barath went for the direct-hit from mid-off as opposed to lobbing the ball to Russell by the stumps, with Kohli in the middle of the pitch. He was 44 then. Three overs later, he copped one on the finger as he looked to pull Russell.
Kohli didn't lose his composure despite all this. Nor did he play himself into a shell. While the bowling was challenging, there were quite a few loose ones on offer too. And Kohli waited for them, right from the time he flicked the eighth delivery he faced - a full one - for four through midwicket. The shot that stood out was off the rare full ball from Roach. Kohli, though, hadn't gone back instinctively, and punched it between Roach and mid-on. He ran fast between the wickets, and brought up his fifty with another exquisite drive, a wristy one past extra cover, off Martin.
The quick scoring from both ends - Rohit too liked the extra pace on offer and went to his third half-century of the series with ease - meant India were ahead of West Indies despite losing three early wickets. Their 110-run stand for the fourth wicket came in just 20 overs. When they were coasting along, though, Kohli went for an ill-judged second, and Sarwan responded beautifully.
That's when the turnaround began. Suresh Raina played his third consecutive poor shot. Rohit went for a rare slog in the first Powerplay over, and Martin was straight enough. Russell came back to get the dangerous-looking Yusuf Pathan - 30 off 29 - with extra bounce, and the rest found the pitch and the pace too tough to handle.
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