Batting collapse sends Windies to disappointing loss
PORT OF SPAIN, TRINIDAD (CMC):
VETERAN OPENER Chris Gayle broke Brian Lara’s record for the most runs by a West Indies batsman in One-Day Internationals (ODI), but his failure typified the Caribbean side’s brittle batting and overshadowed the achievement as the hosts crashed to a 59-run defeat under Duckworth-Lewis-Stern in the second ODI here yesterday.
Chasing a revised target of 270 off 46 overs following a rain break 13 overs into their run chase at Queen’s Park Oval, West Indies were toppled for 210 with four overs remaining to fall behind 1-0 in the three-match series.
Opener Evin Lewis, playing in front of his home crowd, top-scored with 65, while fellow countryman Nicholas Pooran chimed in with 42, but West Indies lost wickets at key stages to watch their chase come apart at the seams.
In fact, they appeared well en route to victory at 148 for three in the 28th over but collapsed and lost their last seven wickets for 62 runs in quick time.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar led India’s attack with four for 31, while fellow new-ball seamer Mohammed Shami claimed two for 39 and left-arm spinner Kuldeep Yadav two for 59.
India captain Virat Kohli had earlier struck his 42nd ODI hundred to become his country’s second highest-run-scorer in ODIs as the visitors reached 279 for seven off their 50 overs after choosing to bat first.
The right-hander’s polished 120, which also saw him surpass Pakistani Javed Miandad for the highest ODI aggregate against West Indies, left him only behind legend Sachin Tendulkar in India’s all-time ODI scoring charts.
He was supported by Shreyas Iyer, who stroked 71, the pair putting on 125 for the fourth wicket to stabilise the innings.
Kohli struck 14 fours and a six off 125 balls, while Iyer’s knock required only 68 balls and included five fours and one six.
BRATHWAITE BEST BOWLER
Seamer Carlos Brathwaite was the best bowler, with three for 53 from his 10 overs.
West Indies struck as early as the third ball of the morning when left-arm pacer Sheldon Cottrell got one to straighten and trap Shikhar Dhawan lbw for two, courtesy of DRS.
Kohli then dominated a 74-run, second-wicket stand with an unusually subdued Rohit Sharma whose 18 came from 34 balls before he was taken at point by Nicholas Pooran in the 16th over, attempting to clear the infield with off-spinner Roston Chase.
Kohli eventually fell in the 42nd over to a catch in the deep off Brathwaite, but India never found the acceleration they wanted in the last 10 overs and managed only 67 runs.
Faced with a challenging but hardly daunting target, West Indies were handed a decent start of 45 off 57 deliveries for the first wicket by Lewis and Gayle.
Not for the first time, Gayle struggled with momentum but passed Lara’s mark of 10,405 runs when he took a single to third man at the start of the ninth over.
Unsurprisingly, however, he perished in the following over after facing 24 balls for his 11, lbw to a full-length delivery from Kumar, with the resulting review more out of desperation than prudence.