Two-pronged assault
India down Windies with effective spinning and shot selection
NORTH SOUND (Antigua and Barbuda): Effective spin bowling and indiscreet shot selection combined to give India an ultimately comfortable 93-run victory over the West Indies in a low-scoring third fixture of a fivematch One-Day International series.
Set a target of 252 at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua to prevent the visitors taking an unbeatable 2-0 series lead, the hosts were on course with Jason Mohammed and Rovman Powell in full flow in a 54-run sixth-wicket partnership on Friday.
But then India’s frontline spin- ners Kuldeep Yadav and Ravichandran Ashwin swung the match decisively in their team’s favour.
From a promising position of 141 for five in the 33rd over, the Caribbean side crashed to 158 all out within the next five overs.
Yadav and Ashwin took three wickets each in engineering the capitulation that was finished off by Kedar Jadhav as he yorked last man Kesrick Williams with his first ball of the match.
Powell had looked dangerous in getting to 30 before a topedged sweep off Yadav resulted in the pivotal dismissal via a catch at deep backward square leg. Mohammed, who managed a top score of 40, became another victim of the left-arm wrist-spinner, trapped leg-before to effectively end the contest.
Earlier it was Jadhav who triggered a late run explosion in partnership with Mahendra Singh Dhoni as India reached 251 for four batting first on a sluggish pitch affected by prolonged, torrential rains the day before.
Dhoni top-scored with an unbeaten 78 off 79 balls and was named man of the match, but the real impetus came from Jadhav, who blazed 40 off 26 balls in an unbroken fifth-wicket stand of 81 runs off just 46 deliveries.
Ajinkya Rahane held the innings together after the loss of early wickets, the opener extending his excellent run of form in the series with 72, his third consecutive score over 50.
“I thought the pitch got easier for batting as the day went along so I was really pleased with the fight we showed towards the end of our innings and then from our bowlers,” said India captain Virat Kohli.
“We may now be looking at giving some of our other players in the squad an opportunity to show how they can perform in these conditions.” – AFP