Patchy batting sinks India in 4th ODI against Windies
An inexplicable slow batting pushed India to a 11-run defeat in the fourth cricket Oneday International against West Indies, who kept the five- match series alive.
A second-string West Indies which never looked like challenging India enough in this series, scored a modest 189 for nine, but sluggish batting by the visitors specially Mahendra Singh Dhoni (54 off 114 balls) turned it into a winning total.
India needed 31 runs off last five overs with both Dhoni and Hardik Pandya (20 off 21) at the crease but the visitors were all out for 178 in 49.4 overs.
From overs 35 to 43, India scored just 23 runs, making heavy weather of the chase. The 44th over by part-timer Roston Chase fetched India 16 runs that eased off the pressure a bit but India still fell short.
West Indies captain Jason Holder (5/27) not only removed
Virat Kohli upfront he got rid of Pandya at the crucial juncture in his memorable five-wicket haul.
It was perhaps Dhoni's slowest half-centuries as he took 108 balls to get to his 64th fifty in the ODIs. He scored his first boundary in the 103rd ball he faced.
He holed out to Alzarri Joseph at boundary ropes off Kesrick Williams in the last ball of the 49th over, leaving the team struggling at 176 for eight. Holder removed Umesh Yadav and Mohammed Shami in the last over to complete the win.
Opener Ajinkya Rahane (60) hit his fourth ODI fifty in a row in an otherwise poor batting by top-order. He shared a 54 -run partnership with Dhoni.
The visitors lost three wickets -- Shikhar Dhawan (5), captain Virat Kohli (3) and Dinesh Karthik (2) -- upfront but with Rahane and Dhoni both at the crease, India were still favourites to win the match.
The last match of the series scheduled for Thursday in Kingston and the lone T20 will be played on Sunday.
Earlier, all-rounder Hardik Pandya (3/40) and chinaman bowler Kuldeep Yadav (2/31) yet again proved very effective in the middle overs while Umesh Yadav (3/36) scalped three batsmen later on in India's dominating bowling show.