Kieron Pollard’s stunning maiden century went in vain as India beat West Indies by 34 runs to win the fifth and final one-day international to record an emphatic 4-1 series triumph on Sunday.

Electing to bat on a track where the ball was keeping low, India reached respectable 267 for six — courtesy Manoj Tiwary’s (104) first ODI century and a fine 80 by Virat Kohli.

It was Pollard whose magnificent power-hitting helped West Indies reach as close as 233 in 44.1 overs. Pollard hit as many as 10 sixes and four fours in his smashing knock of 119 off 110 deliveries. He was last man out in his bid to clear the long-off boundary where Ajinkya Rahane took a smart catch off Suresh Raina’s bowling. Such was his disappointment that he was finding it difficult to walk out.

While chasing, West Indies were pegged back by comeback man Irfan Pathan and Abhimanyu Mithun who blew away the top four with only 36 on board.

After Ravindra Jadeja removed Denesh Ramdin with scoreboard reading 78 for five, T20 specialist Pollard and all-rounder Andre Russell (53, 47 balls, 5×4, 3×6) launched a furious counter-attack adding 89 runs in only 79 deliveries.

Once Russell was run-out by a direct throw from stand-in skipper Gautam Gambhir, Pollard who was hitting sixes at will ran out of partners.

It was match where both Pollard and Tiwary had a point to prove to their detractors that they belong to the top flight.

The immensely talented Tiwary finally displayed his true potential as he scored his maiden century on a difficult track to help India reach a competitive 267 for six.

The Bengal boy who has been in the fringes for quite some time and has never really done justice to his talent in the previous five ODI appearances, grabbed the opportunity with both hands to score 104 off 126 balls (10×4, 1×6) before he had to retire due to cramps.

Coming out to bat in the first over of the match with India reeling at 1/2, Tiwary conjured two important partnerships — first 83 runs with stand-in captain Gautam Gambhir (31, 41 balls, 2×4) for the third wicket and then 117 runs for the fourth wicket with Virat Kohli (80, 85 balls, 5×4).

With Sehwag opting to rest, Gambhir won the toss and elected to bat. To his horror, Ajinkya Rahane (0) and Parthiv Patel (0) were dismissed of successive deliveries in Kemar Roach’s opening over. Both deliveries kept low. While Rahane was trapped leg-before, Patel was played on by a delivery that didn’t rise after pitching.

The situation was certainly not conducive for someone who is yet to cement his place in the Indian ODI line-up with a highest score of 24 before this match.

However Tiwary started off with confident drive through the mid-off region off Andre Russell’s bowling.

With the pitch keeping on the slower side and the odd-ball shooting up, both Tiwary and Gambhir didn’t take any undue risk and concentrated on taking singles hitting the odd boundary in between. Yet, the team’s 50 came fairly quickly in the 11th over.

Gambhir-Tiwary duo added 83 runs for the third wicket before leg-spinner Anthony Martin got one to pitch on the leg-middle line and straighten to find the skipper plumb in-front.

Tiwary used his feet well against both offie Sunil Narine and Martins.

The Tiwary-Kohli duo played freely and also ran well between the wickets. As Manoj entered the 80′s he started cramping up but manfully carried on.

Tiwary’s best shot came when he effortlessly lifted Narine over long-off for a six. As he ran a few singles to reach 99, he was seen in extreme discomfort.

A deft glance off Narine brought up the magic figure as a completely drained looking Tiwary acknowledged the standing ovation given by his teammates. But soon after the completion of his landmark, he walked off the field.

Kohli, who had by then reached his 18th ODI fifty continued in company of Rohit Sharma (21, 3×4). Just when it looked that Kohli would get his second century of the series, he was holed out in the deep trying to go for a big hit.

Rohit was dismissed when he tried playing for the turn off Narine to get bowled. Suresh Raina (16) hit a few blows while Pathan (4) played out a maiden over which robbed India a chance of scoring another 10-15 runs.

Pathan however made amends as he struck with the very first delivery of the West Indian innings when he got one to dart back in to trap Lendl Simmons (0) leg before. However the ball looked like it was going over the stumps.

In his third over, Pathan removed left-hander Kieran Powell (15) who inside edged a delivery onto the stumps.

Marlon Samuels got a beauty from Mithun and was beaten all ends up but to bowler’s pleasant surprise, umpire Sudhir Asnani raised his finger.

Debutant Jason Mohammed got a delivery from Mithun that straightened after pitching hitting him on the middle and leg line.

At 36 for four, Pollard and Denesh Ramdin added 42 runs in 6.1 overs with Pollard starting hitting the big shots. Jadeja removed Ramdin but then Russell was the ideal partner Pollard was looking for. Suddenly runs started coming in sixes and fours with Jadeja (3-62) being punished severely.

Pollard was hitting most of his sixes in the arc between long-off and long-on. Russell also complemented him well and got a quickfire 50 as well. It was a direct throw from the short third-man region by skipper Gambhir that saw the back of Russell. Pollard continued hitting the big sixes.

Even Pathan (2-42) coming back for his second spell wasn’t spared as he was hit for a four followed by a big six.

Pollard was finally lucky to get his century when Kohli dropped a dolly at long-on as the ball trickled down to the boundary ropes. However with not much batting left at the other end, his pyrotechnics was supposed to come to an end.

Teams:

India: Gautam Gambhir (Capt.), Ajinkya Rahane, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, Manoj Tiwary, Parthiv Patel (wk), Abhimanyu Mithun, Irfan Pathan, Rahul Sharma.

West Indies: Darren Sammy (Capt.), Lendl Simmons, Kieran Powell, Marlon Samuels, Jason Mohammed, Kieron Pollard, Denesh Ramdin (wk), Andre Russel, Kemar Roach, Sunil Narine, Anthony Martin.

Source: Times of India

It took nearly four decades for a batsman to score the first double-century in one-day international cricket but less than two years for the second. Virender Sehwag, the batsman most touted to break Sachin Tendulkar’s record for the highest individual ODI score, didn’t merely break it – he shattered it and raised the bar so high that it’s hard to imagine anyone, apart from Sehwag himself, raising it higher.

Unlike Tendulkar in Gwalior, Sehwag wasn’t running out of time as he raced towards 200 in Indore. He got there in the 44th over and had made 219 off 149 balls by the time he was dismissed in the 47th. And in one of cricket’s stranger coincidences, both ODI double-centuries were scored in the same Indian state – Madhya Pradesh – at venues less than 500 kilometres apart.

Sehwag’s performance led India to 418 for 5, their highest ODI total, and sealed victory in the five-match series against West Indies. It was an innings characteristic of Sehwag’s approach to batting. He hit his second ball for four and simply did not stop. He took plenty of risks too, surviving two run-out chances and two dropped catches, but thundered on, ensuring India’s run-rate stayed above seven after the 15th over. Sehwag’s only out-of-character moment came in the 20th over, when he dived to avoid being run out. Sehwag never dives. It was a sign that he was determined to stay the course. He went to 50 off 41 balls, to 100 off 69 balls, to 150 off 112 and past 200 off 140. The record was broken with a withering cut that sped to the backward-point boundary, and he celebrated with an aggressive fist-pump before breaking into a smile.

Before this game, and after each of the previous three, Sehwag had admitted that the top-order failures, which he contributed to, were the reason India had struggled in their chases. Sehwag had made a duck in the previous match in Ahmedabad, where India lost, but led by example today.

India did two things differently at the Holkar Cricket Stadium. They chose to bat for the first time in the series and also opened with their strongest combination, Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir, pushing Parthiv Patel down the order. The upshot of those decisions was an opening partnership of 176 that began smoothly, picked up speed, and gathered the momentum of a runaway train before it was eventually ended, inevitably, by a run-out.

A strong crowd continued the trend of resurging attendances during the home ODIs and they cheered the first boundary in the second over, when Sehwag flicked Ravi Rampaul’s first ball for four – a welcome he would give several other West Indian bowlers. Sehwag looked dangerous from the start. Gambhir did not. After making only 3 off 15 balls, Gambhir finally had the width he needed and cut Kemar Roach to the point boundary.

Both batsmen could have been dismissed on 20, though. Sehwag had given up hope of making his ground but Kieron Pollard missed the stumps from point, and Andre Russell dropped Gambhir on his follow through. Gambhir began to steer, cut and drive through the off side frequently, going over fielders’ heads and placing wide of the boundary riders. Seven of his first nine fours were in this region. India ended the mandatory Powerplay on 63 for 0.

The field spread after that but it didn’t matter. Sehwag and Gambhir scored 45 runs between overs 11 and 15. This passage began with Sehwag hoisting the offspinner Sunil Narine’s first ball over the long-on boundary. He then launched Darren Sammy’s first inside out over extra cover. This passage ended with Sehwag hammering Narine again, this time into the stands beyond deep midwicket.

The field came in for the bowling Powerplay and Gambhir immediately cut Roach through point, and then dabbed for a single to reach his half-century off 51 balls. The smash-and-dab combo was a feature of the partnership. Sehwag got to his hundred with a fierce cut, hit in the air, brushing the fingertips of the leaping fielder at point before speeding to the boundary. The next ball, he ran Gambhir out, to a direct hit from Samuels. Visibly upset with himself, Sehwag continued to punish West Indies.

When he was hitting fours, Sehwag preferred to go square of the wicket, flicking and glancing the numerous deliveries he received on the pads, and opening the face to pepper the backward-point boundary. When he wanted six, he usually went straighter, targeting the arc between midwicket and long-on. He hit 25 fours and seven sixes in all. On 170, in the 38th over, Sehwag spooned Rampaul towards cover, where Sammy dropped a dolly, leaving the bowler distraught.

The rest of the innings was a blur of boundaries and landmarks. Suresh Raina got to his half-century off 42 balls. India reached 300 in 39.1 overs. Sehwag broke his personal best – 175 against Bangladesh in the World Cup – with a flick to the square-leg boundary. He went past 8000 ODI runs with a chip over the fielder at short fine leg. That shot took him from 191 to 195, and soon he was cutting Russell to send India into rapture. When Sehwag was dismissed – lofting Pollard to the substitute Anthony Martin at long-off – most of the West Indian fielders came from far and wide to shake his hand.

Sehwag did not come out to field – the only blot on his performance – and watched from the dressing room as West Indies’ top-order batsmen crashed and burned amid a flurry of shots. India’s debutant legspinner Rahul Sharma struck with the last ball of each of his first three overs in international cricket, bowling Marlon Samuels, Danza Hyatt and Pollard to leave West Indies reeling at 100 for 5.

Rahul, who’s been in India’s squads since the home ODIs against England but stayed on the bench, bowled a variety of deliveries. He sent down legbreaks, googlies and topspinners at varying speeds, but it was the one delivered quicker that brought him success.

Samuels tried to cut a fast topspinner but bottom-edged it onto his stumps. Hyatt then stepped out of the crease, but was yorked by a fast legbreak. The ball pitched outside leg stump and spun between the batsman’s pads to bowl him. Pollard was the next to go, swinging across the line and missing a topspinner that clipped off stump.

After losing more wickets, West Indies decided to bat out time instead of playing shots, and the match ended in stark contrast to how it began – tamely. Denesh Ramdin, however, made 96, his best score and the highest by a West Indies wicketkeeper in ODIs. His 64-run partnership with No. 11 Sunil Narine merely kept India on the field longer than they would have liked.

George Binoy is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo

West Indies finally got their act together to snatch an upset 16-run victory over world champions India to keep themselves afloat in the five-match series on Monday.

Chasing a competitive 261, Rohit Sharma struck a classy 95 but the Indians lacked firepower to overhaul the target and were ultimately bowled out for 244 in 46.5 overs.

West Indies, who desperately needed a victory to keep themselves in the reckoning, recorded their first win in the tour to reduce the margin to 1-2 in the ODI series after having lost the Test rubber 0-2.

The last wicket pair of Abhimanyu Mithun (23) and Umesh Yadav (11 not out) raised hopes of unlikely win with 28-run stand after India were reduced to 216 for nine in 43.3 overs.

But it was not be as West Indies’ most impressive bowler Ravi Rampaul (4-57) trapped Mithun plumb in front of the wicket to end India’s winning streak.

Sharma, whose 100-ball knock was laced with 10 fours and a six, and Ravichandran Ashwin (31 in 64 balls) put on a defiant stand of 91 in 115 balls to keep India in the hunt after a top-order collapse that saw India lose half of their side with only 84 on board by the 16th over.

The dangerous-looking stand was finally broken by debutant Sunil Narine (2-34) when he had Ashwin LBW in the 40th over.

And then Sharma was brilliantly run out by West Indies skipper Darren Sammy with a direct hit four overs later to tilt the balance of the match.

Mithun, who struck two fours and as many sixes, and Yadav brought India closer to an improbable win but in the end it was not enough as West Indies clawed their way back into the series.

The fourth ODI of the series is slated to be held on December 8 at Indore and the final game at Chennai on December 11.

Teams:

India: Virender Sehwag (Captain), Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, Parthiv Patel, R Ashwin, Abhimanyu Mithun, R Vinay Kumar, Umesh Yadav and Rohit Sharma.

West Indies: Lendl Simmons, Marlon Samuels, Darren Bravo, Danza Hyatt, Kieron Pollard, Denesh Ramdin, Darren Sammy (Captain), Andre Russell, Ravi Rampaul, Kemar Roach and Sunil Narine.

Source: Times of India

India wriggled out of a precarious position to clinch a nerve-wrecking one-wicket victory over the West Indies in the first one-dayer which turned out to be a low-scoring thriller on Tuesday.

After restricting the visitors to 211 for nine, India were tottering at 59 for five before riding on Rohit Sharma’s 99-ball 72 to scrape past the target with seven balls to spare and take a 1-0 lead in the series.

Rohit took India close to the victory target before getting out with 11 runs to get, leaving it to the last pair of Varun Aaron and Umesh Yadav to see the hosts through in a game which went down to the wire.

Rohit staged a fine comeback by playing a knock, which was laced with three boundaries and a six, and along with Ravindra Jadeja (38), put on an 83-run partnership for the sixth wicket to set it up for India.

But there was excitement galore as fortunes ebbed and flowed till the very end.

After two wicket-maiden overs following Rohit’s dismissal, the visitors had a real chance to wrap it up with the last two Indian batsmen requiring 11 to finish the task.

There was a lot of drama and confusion between the two batsmen but the West Indies could not dislodge them as India recorded their 10th win on the trot at home, beginning with their World Cup success.

Aaron slammed Darren Sammy for a four before Yadav hit the winning boundary in the same over as the hosts broke into celebrations.

Earlier, India’s young bowling attack performed creditably and justified stand-in skipper Virender Sehwag’s decision to field as it restricted the West Indies to a modest total.

Yadav (2/33) was the pick of the three-pronged Indian pace attack, which ensured that the team did not miss Praveen Kumar who was ruled out of the series due to a fractured rib.

Aaron also picked up two wickets while R Vinay Kumar, Ravichandran Ashwin and Suresh Raina had one each in a disciplined show.

Darren Bravo was the top-scorer for the West Windies with 60 (74b, 6×4) but the stylish left-hander could not convert his knock into a big one.

He was involved in a 75-run fourth-wicket partnership with Danza Hyatt (31 from 54 balls; 2×4, 1×6) as the duo somewhat repaired the damage done by the Indian pacemen early on but could not consolidate.

It was a flop show by the much-fancied Kieron Pollard who took 33 balls for his 13 runs, leaving the visitors to bank on a 22-run cameo by Andre Russell to get past the 200-mark.

In reply, the strong Indian batting line-up left the packed crowd stunned with a reckless display, before Rohit steadied the innings. It was not an ideal time for Rohit to come into the middle with India reeling on 47 for three.

Immediately after he joined Sehwag, some frustrated ones in the packed crowd hurled missiles at Pollard, forcing the match to be stopped for about five minutes.

Rohit however remained unfazed, and focussed on the task ahead. In his comeback match, the task only got tougher as two quick wickets followed in the form of Sehwag and Suresh Raina.

India’s top five were back in the dressing room with just 59 on the board in 11.2 overs, when Jadeja joined Rohit.

With 153 runs needed for victory, the last two recognised Indian pair staged a recovery act.

Fresh from his match-winning 175 against Railways and 100 vs Rajasthan in the Ranji Trophy, Rohit was not short on confidence and found an ally in Jadeja.

The Saurashtra left-hander, incidentally, had a triple hundred in a domestic match at the same ground.

The duo batted intelligently to take India closer by 70 runs before Jadeja got out.

India suffered another blow when Ashwin ran himself out in a fashion strikingly similar to the one in the dramatic drawn third Test in Mumbai.

After a breezy start by India with 15 runs coming from Kemar Roach’s error-prone first over, India soon found themselves on the backfoot.

Opener Parthiv Patel (12) once again failed to cash in on the opportunity, getting out to a wide delivery, and so was the case with Gautam Gambhir.

Having opened his account with a boundary, an over- ambitious Gambhir was dismissed by Roach.

The Windies pacer was on a roll, picking up his third victim in Virat Kohli.

It was around the same time that play was stopped, and the situation only got worse for India after resumption as they lost Sehwag (20) and Raina (5).

But just like in the Test series, Sammy’s men once again failed to capitalise, letting Sharma and Jadeja off the hook.

Earlier, the trio of Yadav, Aaron and Vinay picked one apiece initially, with the top three of the Windies batting – Lendl Samuels (19), Adrian Barath (17) and Marlon Samuels (10) – making their way back to the dressing room with the scoreboard reading 52.

The Windies top-order looked reckless as Vinay gave the first breakthrough, dismissing Barath, who looked in elegant touch before edging one behind.

Teams:

India: Virender Sehwag (Capt.), Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, Parthiv Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Vinay Kumar, Varun Aaron, Umesh Yadav.

West Indies: Darren Sammy (Capt.), Lendl Simmons, Adrian Barath, Danza Hyatt, Darren Bravo, Marlon Samuels, Kieron Pollard, Denesh Ramdin, Andre Russell, Anthony Martin, Kemar Roach.

Source: Times of India

Indian spinners Pragyan Ojha and Ravichandran Ashwin plotted a sensational West Indies collapse before the third and final Test ended in a thrilling draw with scores level on the last day on Saturday.

Left-arm spinner Ojha finished with 6-47 and off-spinner Ashwin with 4-34 as the West Indies were dismissed for 134 in their second innings in the morning after losing their last eight wickets for 43 runs.

India finished at 242-9 chasing a 243-run target, with young middle-order batsman Virat Kohli scoring an impressive 63 and explosive opener Virender Sehwag riding his luck to smash a 65-ball 60. The hosts needed three runs to win in the last over with two wickets in hand, but fast bowler Fidel Edwards conceded only two to prevent India from making a clean sweep.

India won the first Test in New Delhi by five wickets and the second match in Kolkata by an innings and 15 runs.

A pair of below-par batting performances marked the 17-wicket day, with the West Indies collapsing in their second innings in the morning and then the famed Indian batting line-up struggling to achieve the target.

India were 189-6 at one stage after losing Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir (12), Rahul Dravid (33), Sachin Tendulkar (three), Venkatsai Laxman (31) and skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni (13) before Kohli raised his team’s victory hopes.

Sehwag, who was dropped thrice, added 82 for the second wicket with Dravid before being caught by skipper Darren Sammy at short fine-leg while attempting a reverse-paddle sweep off leg-spinner Devender Bishoo.

Tendulkar, who needs just one more hundred to complete an unprecedented 100 international centuries, was caught by Kirk Edwards at mid-wicket off part-time spinner Marlon Samuels.

The West Indies started the day with an overall lead of 189 runs with eight wickets in hand before faltering against the Indian spin duo. The West Indies, leading by 108 runs on the first innings, batted just 23.2 overs in the morning before they were all out after being 91-2 at one stage, with Darren Bravo top-scoring with 48.

The tourists had only their poor shot-selection to blame for their dismal performance, with none of their batsmen applying himself on a fifth-day track offering turn and bounce.

The Indian spin duo maintained their supremacy over the West Indies batsmen, with Ashwin grabbing 22 wickets in his debut Test series and Ojha 20 in three matches.

Ojha, who claimed his second haul of five or more wickets in an innings in the series, started the slide when he removed teenager Kraigg Brathwaite before accounting for Bravo and Samuels in the same over.

Brathwaite added just one run to his overnight score of 34 before he was caught at point by Tendulkar while attempting to cut an Ojha delivery that turned and bounced. Bravo offered a return catch while Samuels was stumped by Dhoni for no score when he played the wrong line after stepping out of the crease.

Source: Yahoo Cricket

West Indies lead India by 189 runs with 8 wickets remaining in their second innings against India on the fourth day of the third Test at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.

At the end of fourth’s day play, Kraigg Brathwaite and Darren Bravo were at the crease.

At the start of Windies second innings, Pragyan Ojha struck twice to get the wickets of Adrian Barath and Kirk Edwards on Friday.

Ojha completely foxed Edwards when he stepped out to a well flighted delivery but was stumped by Dhoni behind the stumps. First to get out was opener Barath when he played straight into the hands of VVS Laxman.

Earlier, R Ashwin hit his maiden century as the West Indies bowled out India for 482.

Ashwin became only the third Indian ever, after Vinoo Mankad and Polly Umrigar, to take five wickets and hit a century in the same Test and was dismissed by Ravi Rampaul on the very next ball.

Ashwin got to his hundred off 118 balls with the help of 2 sixes and 15 fours.

Ashwin was just 20 runs short of his maiden century when India lost Ishant Sharma on the fourth day of the third Test against the West Indies at the Wankhede stadium in Mumbai on Friday.

R Ashwin and Ishant Sharma took India over the 450-run mark.

Virat Kohli hit a fluent 52 before falling to Devendra Bishoo, who had him caught by Fidel Edwards at mid-on.

India avoided the follow-on as Kohli and Ashwin took the hosts over the 400-run mark.

India ended the first session of the day at 376/6.

West Indies captain Darren Sammy clean bowled his Indian counterpart MS Dhoni as India lost their sixth wicket with 60 runs more needed to avoid the follow-on.

Playing without moving his feet, Dhoni (8) was clean bowled by an incoming delivery.

This was after Ravi Rampaul broke a billion hearts when he had Sachin Tendulkar (94) caught by Sammy at second slip.

This is the tenth time that Tendulkar has got out in the nineties equalling the record of Steve Waugh and Rahul Dravid.

There was a deathly silence at Tendulkar’s home ground as Rampaul turned the “villain” by dismissing their favourite hero.

The disappointment was writ large on his face as he slowly trudged back to the pavilion with the crowd stunned into silence.

Starting on his overnight score of 67, the legendary batsman was in a mood to get the coveted ton as quickly as possible and he reached the 90s hitting a six off Fidel Edwards employing the upper cut over third man.

He also ran a few quick singles with his partner Virat Kohli. His 153-ball knock contained eight boundaries and a couple of sixes hit in an identical manner off Edwards.

Fidel Edwards struck in the second over of Day 4 when he had VVS Laxman caught by Marlon Samuels at gully.

Laxman fell on the first ball he faced on the day failing to add to his overnight score of 32.

The day’s play started with Sachin Tendulkar and Laxman resuming the Indian first innings.

On Day 3, chasing an imposing West Indies first-innings total of 590, the perfect symphony of Rahul Dravid and Tendulkar lit up the proceedings as India moved to 281/3 at stumps.

Source: Times of India

For the third day in a row, the batsmen had an easy time at the Wankhede Stadium. Several of India’s batting heavyweights helped themselves to half-centuries as the home side got halfway to West Indies’ 590. Gautam Gambhir and Rahul Dravid didn’t make it to triple figures, but Sachin Tendulkar was well on his way towards reaching the most talked-about milestone of the year.

West Indies didn’t declare overnight, allowing their final pair to bat on, and after 15 minutes of entertaining tail-ender swings, Devendra Bishoo was bowled by offspinner R Ashwin, who completed his second five-wicket haul in his debut series.

A typically quick start followed from India’s openers: Virender Sehwag routinely scything the ball through cover, and Gambhir poking the ball either side of point for runs. Gambhir was a touch loose to start with – chasing and missing several wide deliveries and surviving an early lbw appeal off Fidel Edwards – before getting more fluent.

Edwards and Ravi Rampaul bowled with aggression but there wasn’t much extra bounce or sideways movement to encourage them. West Indies resorted to a defensive field half an hour into the innings – seven fielders on the off side, with two of them in the deep in front of point.

It was the least pacy of the West Indian quicks, Darren Sammy, who snapped the opening stand at 67. He got one to slide past Sehwag’s inside-edge and hit the stumps, signalling with three fingers that it was the third time he had dismissed Sehwag in the series.

The tempo was predictably slower after Sehwag’s exit, and West Indies could have added to the advantage after lunch. Dravid seemed to have hurt his back after slipping when Gambhir turned down a single. Gambhir had a reprieve when he guided Sammy towards first slip, where Kirk Edwards made a lazy attempt at a catch, barely getting a finger on the ball.

After those close calls, Gambhir and Dravid were more solid against the West Indian quicks. Dravid reached 13,000 runs by classically driving a half-volley for four, while Gambhir’s increasing confidence was on display as he launched one over midwicket to reach his half-century. With Bishoo off the field for half the post-lunch session, getting his injured knee attended to, Dravid feasted on Marlon Samuels’ gentle offbreaks, crashing him through covers for successive fours.

Both batsmen were set, and the track was still a shirtfront, but West Indies managed to wheedle out a wicket, when Rampaul banged in a bouncer that Gambhir threw his bat at. The ball flew through to the keeper, and though the Snickometer showed nothing, the umpire was convinced there was an edge.

The crowd wasn’t too disappointed since it brought in Sachin Tendulkar, continuing his quest for the century that has eluded him since March. Tendulkar used his feet well against the spinners right from the start, and quickly progressed to 20. After tea, the crowd had more to cheer as he upper-cut Fidel Edwards into the stands beyond third man. It was a shot he repeated against a quicker one from Samuels, getting four for his effort.

Dravid, meanwhile, worked his way to 1000 runs for the year, and his half-century soon after. He showed his presence of mind off the final delivery before tea: after he defended the ball, it spun alarmingly back towards the stumps, but he reacted just in time, booting the ball away when the it was inches away from the wickets.

His sixth hundred of 2011 – his personal-best for a calendar year – seemed inevitable as he soldiered on untroubled after tea, jumping down the track to power Bishoo over mid-on before powerfully square-cutting Edwards for another boundary. He coaxed the ball past mid-off to move into the eighties, but was dismissed off the next delivery, top-edging on to the stumps.

Tendulkar carried on, unfurling several stylish boundaries to march past 50, a landmark that was greeted by his home ground with expected boisterousness. VVS Laxman also joined in the fun, showing off the wristy whips to midwicket that make him such a delight to watch. Both had a moment of worry each: Laxman top-edging towards a vacant point region, and Tendulkar surviving on 58 as Cartlon Baugh put down a regulation outside edge.

Those two wickets would have swung the match in West Indies’ favour. Instead, with only 13 wickets toppled in three days, and the track showing little signs of degenerating, it remains an even game with chances of an outright result receding.

Siddarth Ravindran is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo

The talk before the start of the Test had been about West Indies’ line-up having only seven centuries on their resume while India’s boasted 20 times as many, but two days into the match it was the less-decorated batting unit that had put on 575 for 9. Darren Bravo crafted his third hundred in four Tests to lead the way, while Kirk Edwards and Kieran Powell were left to rue missing centuries on a shirtfront at the Wankhede.

Marlon Samuels partook in the run-fest after tea, to make it only the fifth time in Test history that each of the top six made half-centuries. Varun Aaron, the debutant fast bowler who was ordinary for much of the innings, showed plenty of tenacity to bowl a quick spell even as West Indies’ total swelled past 500, earning three wickets to spark a late collapse.

The tone for the day was set by Bravo, who caressed the first two deliveries of the morning between the bowler, Aaron, and mid-off for four. West Indies plundered 111 runs before lunch, after which India went completely on the defensive, spreading the field, and giving the part-timers, Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar, extended spells. The strategy reduced the boundaries but there was no flagging of the run-rate, as an untroubled West Indies marched towards 500.

Like on Tuesday, there was little to encourage India’s fast bowlers. Bravo showed how easy the track was to bat on as he pulled an Aaron bouncer wide of mid-on for four. His partner Edwards continued to showcase his driving skills, and a muscular style that favours the on-side. Edwards was more tentative than Bravo and he eventually fell short of a third Test century when he nicked a short-of-length ball to the keeper, giving Ishant Sharma reward for a long, tight spell.

That brought in Powell, who started shakily – getting knocked on the back of his helmet by Ishant off the first delivery he faced. That didn’t faze the 21-year-old Powell, though, and he showed off his footwork against spin, dishing out a boundary an over. Powell initially dominated his partnership with the well-set Bravo, making his intentions clear early on by charging and lofting offspinner R Ashwin over his head, a stroke he repeated several times against the spinners.

Bravo was briefly starved of the strike when Powell got going, but he didn’t lose his rhythm. He continued to favour the off side, using the graceful back-foot punch between cover and point heavily. His century came up with a slice past cover for four a few overs before lunch. There was no Lara-like leap in the air to celebrate the milestone this time, just a kiss of the bat and wave of the cap.

There were a couple of close calls for the West Indies batsmen after lunch: two overs in, Powell was nearly run out by MS Dhoni, and in the next over Bravo nicked a delivery between the keeper and leg slip. That raised India’s hopes, but the breakthrough remained elusive. One of the few times the paltry crowd found its voice again was when their favourite, Tendulkar, was brought on to bowl.

With minimal risk, Powell and Bravo collected the singles, hardly hassled by the spinners, who sent down an astonishing 22 overs in the hour after lunch. A maiden century for Powell seemed inevitable, but he was caught behind for 81 off a quicker delivery from Pragyan Ojha, ending a partnership of 160.

Dhoni brought on the fast bowlers to attack the new batsman, Samuels, but though there were a couple of outside edges, Ishant slanted the ball too often into the pads to gift easy runs. Bravo was unflustered as ever, continuing past 150 to have a maiden double-century in his sights. He didn’t get there, though, as his innings ended on 166, giving Dhoni a catch while chasing a slightly wide delivery after tea.

That strike sparked a rare period of Indian dominance, with five wickets going down for 48 runs. Aaron and R Ashwin did the damage for India in that spell, during which Samuels unleashed some eye-catching drives to reach his half-century. An awaited declaration didn’t come on the day, and neither could India bowl out West Indies, which meant Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir didn’t have to bat after spending almost two entire days in the field.

Siddarth Ravindran is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo

West Indies put up a much-improved batting display and rode on two century partnerships to lay the foundation for a mammoth first innings total in the third and final Test against India on Tuesday.

Down 0-2 in the three-match series after having lost the first two matches in Delhi and Kolkata, the visitors took full advantage of captain Darren Sammy’s luck with the toss and made optimum use of the good batting conditions to rake up a healthy-looking 267 for two at close on the opening day.

At stumps, Kirk Edwards (65 in 117 balls) and Darren Bravo (57 in 98 balls) were at the crease.

Opting to bat, the West Indies were earlier provided an excellent start by openers Adrian Barath (62 in 148 balls) and Kraigg Brathwaite (68 in 184 balls).

Edwards, who has struck 10 fours in his 146-minute unbeaten effort, and Bravo, who has seven hits to the fence to his credit in his 128-minute essay, have put on 117 runs in 192 balls for the unconquered third wicket stand.

The duo consolidated on the fine opening partnership of 137 runs provided by Barath, who struck his second successive half-century, and Brathwaite.

For the home team, off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin picked up both the West Indian wickets in a span of 20 balls to reduce the tourists to 150 for two at one stage.

However, some forthright batting by Edwards and Bravo, fresh from his brilliant 136 in the second innings at Kolkata, ensured that the visitors ended the day without any further damage.

The visitors were earlier dealt a big blow by the non-availability of experienced middle-order batsman Shivnarine Chanderpaul, who did not recover sufficiently from his calf muscle injury picked up in Kolkata.

On the contrary, India went into the match by making the surprise move of leaving out Umesh Yadav, the highest wicket-taker in the second Test, to give a chance to Varun Aaron to make his debut.

Aaron and fellow-pacer Ishant Sharma, however, failed to pick up a wicket in the first two sessions of the day, though both bowled impressively at times on the easy-paced Wankhede Stadium wicket.

Left-arm Pragyan Ojha, with 13 wickets to his name from the first two Tests, was able to extract slow turn in the morning and slightly sharper later in the day but he too failed to claim any wicket in the day.

Ojha, however, was unlucky not to have dismissed Bravo on 33 and in the team score of 230 for two when the left-hander edged a defensive prod to the left of lone slip fielder Rahul Dravid, who could not hold on to the ball despite getting both hands to it.

India summoned the second new ball after 84.3 overs when the West Indies score was five short of 250.

The visitors, who were 80 for no loss and 161 for two at the end of the first two sessions respectively, were in full control in the last session with Edwards, who was nearly bowled by Ashwin in the last over before tea, and Bravo looking very good.

Earlier, Ashwin picked up two wickets in 20 balls in the middle session to bring India back into the game after the West Indies had made a solid beginning.

The lanky spinner from Chennai, who made his debut in Delhi, sent back openers Barath, who struck eight fours in 148 balls, and Brathwaite (8 fours in 184 balls) in the last half hour to tea after duo had put on 137 runs for the first wicket.

In the opening session, the visitors made a confident start and went into lunch with 80 on board without losing any wicket.

The series already out of their grasp, Barath and Brathwaite decided to adopt patience over flamboyance on an easy-paced track.

Post lunch, the Indian bowlers managed to keep a tight hold on the proceedings, which eventually resulted in breaking the defiant partnership between Barath and Brathwaite.

After allowing West Indies to rake up runs at a slightly more brisk pace in the morning session, Indian bowlers kept a tight leash in the first hour of the second session, conceding only 29 runs in 16 overs.

Ashwin, unlucky to see Brathwaite escape a sharp catch to VVS Laxman at backward short-leg, finally broke the opening stand when he had Barath caught bat-pad by India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

Barath tried to defend the sharply spinning ball but it took his bat’s inside edge and ballooned after striking his thigh pad for Dhoni to run forward and easily claim the catch.

Ashwin, who was bowling in tandem with Ojha, added the scalp of Brathwaite by foxing the batsman with another turning ball that took the inside edge and ballooned to Virat Kohli at short forward leg.

Brathwaite, who escaped a half-chance on 32 and another one on 57 – struck eighth fours in his 184-ball knock.

The twin strike by Ashwin put West Indies slightly on the back foot and they were lucky not to have lost Edwards in the final over when he played and missed a ball that sneaked in between his bat and pad and nearly hit the stumps.

But post tea, Edwards and Bravo attacked the Indian bowlers, especially Ashwin, to ensure that the home team did not come on top.

Teams:

India: MS Dhoni (captain), Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, Virat Kohli, R Ashwin, Ishant Sharma, Pragyan Ojha, Varun Aaron.

West Indies: Darren Sammy (captain), Adrian Barath, Kraigg Brathwaite, Kirk Edwards, Darren Bravo, Kieran Powell, Marlon Samuels, Carlton Baugh, Fidel Edwards, Devendra Bishoo, Ravi Rampaul.

Source: Times of India

Pragyan Ojha dismissed Darren Bravo after lunch to trigger a West Indies collapse as India claimed an innings and 15-run victory in the second test on Thursday to take a decisive 2-0 lead in the three game series.

India dismissed the West Indies for 463 in its second innings eight minutes before tea on the fourth day after the visitors resumed the day at 195-3.

India, which had a massive 478-run first innings lead, faced stiff resistance from Bravo (136) and Marlon Samuels (84), before spinners Ojha and Ravichandran Ashwin took two crucial wickets each to regain control.

It was then left to pace bowler Umesh Yadav to help remove the tail and finish with figures of 4-80.

The West Indies batting lineup showed a new strength in its second innings as its free stroke play changed the tempo of the game even though it was always doomed to lose after being dismissed for only 153 in the first innings.

The West Indies was cruising at 401-4 at one stage before Ojha, Ashwin and Yadav claimed a pair of wickets each to pick up the last six for just 62 runs.

Bravo was the pick of the batsman and his aggression seemed to rub on to others. After making 195 against Bangladesh at Mirpur last month, Bravo brought up his second test century in 12 matches.

The 22-year-old left-hander dominated the bowling and reached his century with a four, celebrating by taking off his helmet, pumping his fist in the air and waving his bat toward the dressing room.

Bravo earlier survived a chance on 54 when Gautam Gambhir’s throw from mid-off went wide of wicketkeeper Mahendra Singh Dhoni with the batsman almost at the other end.

Then on 119, he was given not out when replays showed a clear bat-pad catch taken by Gambhir at short-leg off left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha.

His fifth-wicket partnership with Samuels made the Indian bowling look pedestrian as they plundered 132 runs off 158 deliveries before Bravo was out caught to a low catch by Rahul Dravid at slip off left-arm spinner Ojha.

Dravid also took a fine one-handed catch to his right off Ojha to dismiss Carlton Baugh for 3, before offspinner Ravichandran Ashwin trapped Samuels lbw in the next over to end West Indies’ hopes of prolonging proceedings.

Captain Darren Sammy made a dashing 32 off 37 balls with one four and three sixes, but the end was always inevitable.

Earlier, Chanderpaul, seen as the visiting side’s best hope of putting up a resistance, was dismissed when he seemed to be settled in for another big innings.

Chanderpaul hit six fours off 94 balls before he was dismissed by Yadav with the second new ball. Chanderpaul, resuming on 21, played-on a delivery around the off stump much to the joy of the few thousand spectators at the stadium.

The final test will be held in Mumbai from Tuesday.

Source: Yahoo Cricket