West Indies took a 2-1 lead in the five-match series with an impressive four-wicket victory at Basseterre.
The Bulletin by Dileep Premachandran23-May-2006
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out
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It was a Made-in-Guyana triumph, but given West Indian cricket’s recent
travails, it might as well have been made in heaven. A magnificent
unbeaten 115 from Ramnaresh Sarwan, incidentally playing his 100th ODI, provided the momentum for the pursuit of 246, and a classy half-century from a
hamstrung Shivnarine Chanderpaul proved as decisive as West Indies took a
2-1 lead in the five-match series with an impressive four-wicket victory
at Basseterre.As in the two games at Sabina Park, the inaugural international at St
Kitts too went down to the final over, bowled by S Sreesanth with six runs
still needed. Dwayne Bravo’s run out gave India a glimmer of hope, but
crucially, Rahul Dravid misfielded the fourth ball, allowing Sarwan a
couple where there might not even have been one. The next ball was
summarily dismissed to the cover fence, setting the seal on another
matchwinning innings from Sarwan, whose 106-run partnership with
Chanderpaul made all the difference.India, though, have no one to blame but themselves, after a batting
implosion that saw a paltry 77 runs scored in the final 22 overs. When
Brian Lara asked for the final Powerplay, they were cruising at 168 for 2,
with Virender Sehwag in sight of three figures, and Mohammad Kaif
providing solid support. A total of 300 was plausible, but once Bravo
thudded a reverse-swinging yorker into Sehwag’s boot, the game started to
drift out of India’s reach.Mahendra Singh Dhoni biffed and missed his way to 15 before hesitance
between the wickets, and a smart bit of fielding from Gayle, sent him
packing. Thereafter, with the ebullience and skill of Yuvraj Singh – ruled
out with back spasms – badly missed and with Kaif unable to break out of
accumulation mode, it was an eminently forgettable procession. Marlon
Samuels and Gayle put the ball on a spot, batsmen were unable to work it
into the gaps, and as the field closed in, they compounded their woes with
some suicidal dashes between the stumps.
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It could all have been so different. Having lost Dravid in Ian Bradshaw’s
opening over, India made all the early running thanks to Sehwag
rediscovering his effervescence and Suresh Raina’s accomplished cameo.
With the bowlers either offering too much width or pitching too full,
Sehwag crashed strokes through the offside with impunity, while Raina’s
off-drives were struck with a panache that recalled a certain Sourav
Ganguly in his prime.Sehwag slashed one six over point of Bradshaw, and followed that with an
immense shot over mid-on off Bravo, even as Kaif chipped and ran to turn
over the strike. It seemed pretty effortless till the slow bowlers came
on, when the gentle tourniquet soon became a choke.Needing just under five an over, Sarwan walked in with the innings in some
disarray after two marginal lbw decisions had taken the sheen off a steady
start from Gayle and Samuels, opening for the first time. Samuels was
given out to Sreesanth’s bowling, and when Agarkar sent back Runako
Morton without scoring, 246 looked a long way away.But Sarwan started with a crashing off-drive off Agarkar and a crisp cut
off Sreesanth, and after good fortune directed an inner edge wide of the
stumps and down to the fence, he laced a gorgeous cover-drive off a
strangely off-colour Irfan Pathan. Desperate to stem the tide, Dravid
turned to spin, but while Harbhajan Singh was accurate and economical,
Ramesh Powar was targetted from the start. Sarwan twice thumped him over
long-on for six, and Gayle then revealed how powerful he could be with an
immense stroke that struck the roof.With options dwindling, Dravid turned back to Agarkar, easily the pick of
India’s bowlers. When he got Gayle to edge one, and Harbhajan outfoxed
Lara, it was certainly game on, but Chanderpaul made light of a muscle
strain to caress some lovely shots, including a sensational straight six off
Agarkar, en route to a 58-ball 50.At the other end, Sarwan was just imperious. Having romped to 50 in just
41 balls, he was much more circumspect as the game neared its denouement.
Dravid’s decision to try Sehwag tilted the match, and also gave Sarwan his
century – his third in the one-day game and his first against India – with a precise late cut and two runs scampered to midwicket sparking considerable celebration in the stands. And though Chanderpaul departed soon after, the other Guyanese hero remained to the end. If last
Saturday was all about Bravo holding his nerve, this was very much the
Sarwan show. Whisper it softly, but the Calypso Kings might just be on the
road to recovery. As for India – red-hot favourites to take the series –
they find themselves with no margin for error heading into the final two
games.
India
Rahul Dravid lbw b Bradshaw 0 (1 for 1)
Suresh Raina b Bradshaw 26 (62 for 2)
Virender Sehwag lbw Bravo 96 (174 for 3)
Mahendra Singh Dhoni run out (Gayle) 15 (211 for 4)
Mohammad Kaif run out (Chanderpaul) 63 (216 for 5)
Irfan Pathan c and b Samuels 1 (219 for 6)
Ramesh Powar b Sarwan 1 (224 for 7)
Venugopal Rao run out (Edwards) 12 (233 for 8)
Ajit Agarkar c Lara b Bravo 8 (243 for 9)
West Indies
Marlon Samuels lbw Sreesanth 11 (30 for 1)
Runako Morton lbw Agarkar 0 (31 for 2)
Chris Gayle c Dhoni b Agarkar 40 (116 for 3)
Brian Lara c Dravid b Harbhajan 5 (131 for 4)
Shivnarine Chanderpaul lbw Pathan 58 (237 for 5)
Dwayne Bravo run out (Pathan) 1 (241 for 6)
