JADEJA SPINS INDIA TO SERIES WIN AGAINST WINDIES
Jadeja takes 4/34 to wreck visitors for 104, hosts clinch series 31 with ninewicket win
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: One has to feel for the fans here in Thiruvananthapuram. The only game they had witnessed before Thursday here at the Greenfield International Stadium, was a T20I against New Zealand last year that got curtailed to an eight overs-a-side affair due to rain. And on Thursday, when they had turned up in numbers to be a part of the city’s first ODI game in around 30 years, they only got to witness 46.3 overs of cricket.
On a sporting wicket, which local groundsmen had predicted should help the batsmen, West Indies won the toss and elected to bat first on predicted lines. However, after a double whammy in the first two overs saw Kieran Powell and Shai Hope being snapped up by Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah respectively for ducks, it seemed to have caused the visitors a psychological dent. They crawled to post a 105-run target which India chased down easily to clinch the five-match series 3-1.
At the end of the first powerplay, Rovman Powell (16) and Marlon Samuels (24) held on to help the side reach 30. Ravindra Jadeja had been introduced in the attack in the 10th over by Virat Kohli and he stung well to start off with a maiden before getting rid of Samuels in the very next over. Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar were at their miserly best in their first spells and it only helped Khaleel Ahmed and Jadeja to tighten the screws.
Kohli made Jadeja bowl eight overs on the trot and by the time he made way, West Indies were reeling at 80/6 at the end of the 24th over. Kuldeep Yadav, the highest wicket-taker for India in the series, had only been introduced an over earlier. It was an excellent all-round show from the Indian bowlers with Khaleel Ahmed and Bumrah plugging in the gaps well. Jadeja was brought back only in the 30th over and the southpaw cleaned up with final two wickets in successive overs, thus finishing with figures of 4/34 in 9.5 overs.
India had no problem in chasing down the paltry total. Shikhar Dhawan was the only batsman to fall — playing on to his stumps just like he had in Guwahati in the first ODI. Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, who had shared five centuries in between so far in the series, then took the opposition to the cleaners with the former bringing up his 37th ODI half-century. The Mumbai batsman studded his knock with five boundaries and four gigantic sixes while Kohli struck four boundaries to stay unbeaten on 33.
It was a forgettable day for West Indies. After their batsmen reflected why they are ranked so lowly in world cricket, their bowling was extremely mediocre. While Sharma and Kohli are both world-class batsmen, the ease with which they paced their knocks and helped chase down the total in under 15 overs, showcased poor planning and execution from the Windies bowlers.