West Indies 321/6 [ MN Samuels 126* , D Ramdin 61,DR Smith 46, Mohammad Sami 4/66 ] beat India 197 All out [ S Dhawan 68,RA Jadeja 33*,MN Samuels 2/10 ,DJ Bravo 2/28 ,R Rampaul 2/48] by 124 Runs.
Man of The Match: MN Samuels
Spirited West Indies shocked and awed complacent India with a massive 124 runs win in the first of five ODI matches series. Put into bat by Dhnoni on a wicket which provided early assistance to Indian seam bowlers the West Indian batsmen very aptly implemented its game plan through calculative mix of caution and aggression.
A score of 321/6 was even considered chase able by the very strong Indian batting Unit .But again the transformed West Indian bowling attack under careful nursing of Curtly Ambrose did not allow Indian batting any liberty taking the hearts out in no time. India at one stage was reduced to 114/5 and finally the hero of the day Samuels with his slow spinners served the final nails in Indian batting coffin. India got all out 197 in 41 overs conceding a huge defeat by 124 runs.
India had mixed success in their last overseas series in England .After losing the test series comprehensive they bounced back in the ODI series winning it comfortably giving a good account of them. India is always considered almost an unbeatable side in India.
Moreover; some of the Dhoni’s were fresh from Champions league success. West Indies on the other hand also had fresh memory of white washing a pathetic Bangladesh team in all format of the game .But on paper and in the analysis of experts India is considered run away favorites against West Indies.
West Indies efforts got a little bit more challenging after their blaster opening batsman Chris Gayle well known in India for his heroics was not available through injury. Sunil Narine the ace spinner also got suspended and banned for his suspect bowling action. West Indies also lost two warm up matches against India A.
Few thought that with not too deep batting and lean bowling resources West Indies will struggle to come to term with Indian condition. But how sweetly Caribbean Team now regrouping under care of Clive Lloyd, Curly Ambrose galvanized into a superb all round team efforts?
Dhoni was so confident with his team that he cared less in inviting the visitors to bat after winning the toss. In absence of Lendl Simmons Captain Dwayne Bravo opened the innings with Dwayne Smith.
Bhuvaneswar Kumar and Mohammad Sami were looking to exploit the swinging conditions. But Bravo and Smith survived some good deliveries and in between executed some lovely strokes .Bravo in his uncharacteristic position poked a Sami out swinger to the safe hands of Dhawan in the slips after playing some scintillating stokes. His younger brother Darren Bravo replaced him. Together with Smith the pair put on run a ball 64 runs before Jadeja could deceive Smith with an arm bowling castling him all ends up.
In came Samuels. He was not in West Indies team in Bangladesh matches .He was recovering from injury .Lloyds persistence brought him back to add experience and quality into West Indies batting. How well he responded.Samuels playing his first ODI in seven months led a strong West Indies batting effort, scoring his sixth century - his second against India - to pose a tough challenge for the hosts. With Denesh Ramdin, who scored 61, Samuels added 165 in 23.1 overs for the fourth wicket - a West Indies record against India - to convert a solid start into an imposing total.
Darren Bravo looked settled and was executing some of his classic strokes . But trying one shot too many against Amit Misra he holed out to Dhawan in the deep. Ramdin who is in sublime form recently joined Samuel settled at the wicket by that time at scoreboard showing 120 for 3. The Indian spinners could not get any purchase nor did they exert any control, and the batsmen built slowly, finding the odd boundary and rotating the strike to keep the run rate above five at the 30-over mark.
Samuels looked to rediscover his subtle touch of elegance. He started playing spectacular strokes all around the wicket.He was particularly savage on Amit Misra struggling with his line and length dispatching him with consecutive sixes .Dhoni brought on Suresh Raina his occasional game changer. But Samuel also smashed his innocuous bowling over the fence. In between Samuel and Ramdin kept the score board ticking with smart singles. The pair could not be separated by Dhoni’s men. Ramdin took charge in the power play smashing 16 from a Sami Over .Samuel continued in his sublime best cutting and driving with aesthetic beauty. 52 runs were scored in the power play. Samuels reached his century with a calm dab down the ground and although West Indies lost a bit of momentum due to quick wickets, Samuels carried on with precision violence to finish unbeaten on 126.
Before Ramdin fell to Sami after scoring 61 the pair added 165 runs in the fourth wicket which is a new record for West Indies against India in ODI. However Indians could bowl the death overs well enough in removing dangerous Pollard and Russell before they could cause further damage.
Many Indian supporters and neutral observers did not rule out India’s chances of chasing and overhauling the massive target of 327 set by the West Indians. Dahawan and Rahane started confidently .But as the pair was approaching the half century partnership mini milestone a terrible mix up caused Rahane getting run out.
West Indies ran through the Indian batting heart of Kohli, Raidu, Raina and Dhoni by smart line and length bowling of pacers .Four of them together could master only 23 runs. India got reduced to 114/5 by 26th over. Dhawan was still there and Indian batting depth could still create some sensation. But the hero of day Samuels coming to the attack served two deadly blows removing quickly Dhawan and Kumar. The tasks of Indians became impossible. The efforts of Jadeja and Sami could only reduce the margin to 124 which by any measure is a huge defeat by the Indians.
A comprehensive West Indian victory can act as tonic for the Caribbean. But it must not give any complacency to them. India is more than capable of bouncing back with vengeance. West Indies also have few areas to improve. Indian spinners could not control their line and length. Jadeja, Misra and Raina gave away 144 runs in 22 overs getting two wickets only. Mohit Sharma conceded 61 runs without getting a wicket .Sami though managed to get 4 wickets yet gave away 66 runs. Only B Kumar could bowl economically. West Indian bowlers bowled exceedingly well as a unit. India now has to do a lot of regrouping and post mortem of the match in efforts of getting back into the series.
India will have to review its bowling options. Umesh Yadav and Ravichandra Ashwin can be better choice before it gets too late. India perhaps thought that easier outings against not too strong West Indies will boost their morale before the very important Australia tour .But the series has not started the way their doctors prescribed .It is too early though yet the symptom did not look encouraging . On the other hand if West Indies can demonstrate consistency it will give them great confidence.
BDST: 0844 HRS, OCT 09, 2014
