KHURRAM HABIB

When Kedar Jadhav was brought into the attack in the 29th over of the final ODI, West Indies were struggling at 110/3. Having lost two quick wickets to Umesh Yadav, they had been unable to force the pace against the spinners.

Both Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav had shared 10 overs since Umesh bowled his last in the 18th and had given away just 27 runs.

However, skipper Virat Kohli wanted a wicket and brought in Jadhav. His first over wasn’t spectacular as he gave away five runs.

However, the next one yielded success as a solid-looking Jason Mohammed fell into the trap by hitting one straight to the bowler.

Jadhav’s deliveries have been slow and flat-tish, bowled from an angle as batsmen struggled to force the pace. It happened to opposition batsmen in the Champions Trophy and Kohli hoped it’d happen now. His contribution was vital as India restricted Windies to 205 for nine.

The right-arm spinner used the crease, bowling from behind it and kept it slow. Jadhav almost had skipper Jason Holder early but MS Dhoni couldn’t hold on to the sharp chance.

Even as he did his job, West Indies managed some impetus through Holder, who reverse swept chinaman Kuldeep. The shot that stood out was the hit to cow corner against Hardik Pandya. However, after Holder’s dismissal, it all fell away.

Earlier, the Windies openers got off to a strong start thanks to an unimpressive Umesh.

The India pace spearhead had said he wouldn’t compromise on pace. “I am here because of my pace and if were to bowl only at 130-135, I wouldn’t have been here,” he said.

Although not on the higher side as he bowled within 140kmph initially, he was off target on a number of occasions and Kyle, elder brother of Shai, cashed in on a fast Sabina Park surface.

He hit Umesh for a four down leg side and then collected a couple off the next ball to get going. Even a change of ends didn’t help Umesh as he bowled a couple of short deliveries and was punished.

Umesh was taken off after a second spell, but Kohli had to fall back on him as Kyle seemed to have the measure of Mohd Shami, who was the most successful bowler with 4/48.

Umesh obliged by keeping things tight with a good line and semi-short length. Kyle, who had his younger brother at the crease, looked to manufacture strokes against a confident Umesh. After two boundaries, hit off reasonably good deliveries, Umesh had him trying to pull off a good length ball.

The pacer then bowled a full delivery and Roston Chase was back after only one ball, leaving the hosts in tatters.