Glad to prove our doubters wrong, says Nurse

PUNE: West Indies all-rounder Ashley Nurse says his team was written off before the start of India tour but it has proved his critics wrong with a solid showing in the ongoing ODI series. Nurse played a key role with both bat and ball in his side’s 43-run over India in the third ODI on Saturday. “It was a very good performance by the boys. No one gave us a chance when we came but I think we’re showing the public out here that we are here to play,” said Nurse at the post-match media conference. “It’s just good to see the boys play consistent cricket and giving India a run for their money,” he said. Nurse said the wicket in Pune was “pretty good”. “It was a good wicket but a bit on the slower side. . It wasn’t a belter. You had to work for your runs but it was a pretty good wicket,” he added.

In the second ODI against West Indies in Visakhapatnam, Virat Kohli eclipsed Sachin Tendulkar as the fastest to reach 10,000 ODI runs.

With 38 hundreds under his belt, it is only a matter of time before he goes past Tendulkar’s tally of 49 centuries in the 50-over format.

The Delhi-born cricketer, however, had to experience the same feeling on Saturday that Tendulkar went through for the better part of the 90s. Just like India’s hopes hinged on Tendulkar’s shoulders during the 90s, the Pune ODI too appeared to be a contest between West Indies and Kohli. India were in the contest as long he was in the middle and the moment he was dismissed, it was curtains for the hosts.

In fact, the ongoing series has underlined the difference between Kohli and other Indian batsmen. While the Indian captain has accumulated a staggering 404 runs with an average of 202, none of the other home batsmen have managed to aggregate 200.

As India take on West Indies in the fourth ODI at the Brabourne Stadium on Monday, Kohli would want others, especially the struggling middle-order, to step up as well for a defeat here would give the visitors an unassailable 2-1 lead.

PACE WORRIES

That India have a wobbly mid- R Sharma 38

*percentage of runs