Watch Exclusive highlights of India Vs West Indies 4th ODI, Indore. Which Includes extraordinary inning of 219 runs from Sehwag. and Set a new world record
Showing posts with label West indies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label West indies. Show all posts
Thursday, 8 December 2011
Wednesday, 7 December 2011
Pitch report: India Vs West Indies 4th ODI, Indore
India will have to raise their game against a buoyant West Indies if they are to seal the series in the fourth One-day International at the Holkar Stadium here Thursday.
The West Indies showed fighting spirit in the first two ODIs before finally winning the third at Visakhapatnam to keep the five-match series alive. India lead the series 2-1.
India allowed the West Indies to make 269 after having them on mat at 170 for nine in the second ODI. In Ahmedabad, India had things under control until late fireworks by captain Darren Sammy and all-rounder Andre Russell took the West Indies to 260 from 181 for five in 45th over. The score in the end proved enough for the tourist's first win on the tour.
The Caribbean side, however, have already received a setback with in-form batsman and leading scorer of the series Darren Dravo ruled out due to a hamstring injury.
A lot has already been said about the form of Indian captain Virender Sehwag and ace batsman Gautam Gambhir, who got out to first ball at Motera. The Delhi duo are yet to shine in the series. Suresh Raina will be another one looking for runs after scores of 5, 0, 2 in three successive outings.
Rohit Sharma has been the stand out Indian batsman so far, scoring three consecutive fifties, including an unbeaten 90 in Visakhapatnam and 95 in Ahmedadbad.
The seamers also need to show consistency. They have got the early wickets but proved expensive in the death overs. The West Indies amassed 73 runs in the last five overs at Ahmedabad as Umesh Yadav and Abhimanyu Mithun's erratic line provided fodder for Sammy and Russell.
Irfan Pathan, who has been inducted in the squad for the last two ODIs, is likely to play.
The confidence in the West Indies camp must be sky high after their maiden win and they would be keen to end the tour on a high by performing well in the remaining two games.
'Morale of the team is good. So far, we kept seeing we have been coming close. It is about taking the opportunity, grabbing it and winning,' Sammy said on the eve of the match here.
'It is two games left and most of the guys have been away from home for two and a half months. We want to finish on a high. We have to believe we can win. It is an important game for us and hopefully we can win it and take it down to Chennai for the final.'
The West Indies would expect some runs from the openers, who have failed to score in tandem.
The highest opening wicket partnership for them has been 18 that was between Lendl Simmons and Adrian Barath.
India: Virender Sehwag (captain), Varun Aaron, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Virat Kohli, Abhimanyu Mithun, Parthiv Patel (wicket-keeper), Irfan Pathan, Ajinkya Rahane, Suresh Raina, Rahul Sharma, Rohit Sharma, Manoj Tiwary, Vinay Kumar.
West Indies: Darren Sammy (captain), Lendl Simmons, Adrian Barath, Marlon Samuels, Darren Bravo, Danza Hyatt, Kieron Pollard, Denesh Ramdin (wicket-keeper), Andre Russell, Ravi Rampaul, Kemar Roach, Anthony Martin, Sunil Narine, Kieran Powell, Jason Mohammed.
The West Indies showed fighting spirit in the first two ODIs before finally winning the third at Visakhapatnam to keep the five-match series alive. India lead the series 2-1.
India allowed the West Indies to make 269 after having them on mat at 170 for nine in the second ODI. In Ahmedabad, India had things under control until late fireworks by captain Darren Sammy and all-rounder Andre Russell took the West Indies to 260 from 181 for five in 45th over. The score in the end proved enough for the tourist's first win on the tour.
The Caribbean side, however, have already received a setback with in-form batsman and leading scorer of the series Darren Dravo ruled out due to a hamstring injury.
A lot has already been said about the form of Indian captain Virender Sehwag and ace batsman Gautam Gambhir, who got out to first ball at Motera. The Delhi duo are yet to shine in the series. Suresh Raina will be another one looking for runs after scores of 5, 0, 2 in three successive outings.
Rohit Sharma has been the stand out Indian batsman so far, scoring three consecutive fifties, including an unbeaten 90 in Visakhapatnam and 95 in Ahmedadbad.
The seamers also need to show consistency. They have got the early wickets but proved expensive in the death overs. The West Indies amassed 73 runs in the last five overs at Ahmedabad as Umesh Yadav and Abhimanyu Mithun's erratic line provided fodder for Sammy and Russell.
Irfan Pathan, who has been inducted in the squad for the last two ODIs, is likely to play.
The confidence in the West Indies camp must be sky high after their maiden win and they would be keen to end the tour on a high by performing well in the remaining two games.
'Morale of the team is good. So far, we kept seeing we have been coming close. It is about taking the opportunity, grabbing it and winning,' Sammy said on the eve of the match here.
'It is two games left and most of the guys have been away from home for two and a half months. We want to finish on a high. We have to believe we can win. It is an important game for us and hopefully we can win it and take it down to Chennai for the final.'
The West Indies would expect some runs from the openers, who have failed to score in tandem.
The highest opening wicket partnership for them has been 18 that was between Lendl Simmons and Adrian Barath.
India: Virender Sehwag (captain), Varun Aaron, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Virat Kohli, Abhimanyu Mithun, Parthiv Patel (wicket-keeper), Irfan Pathan, Ajinkya Rahane, Suresh Raina, Rahul Sharma, Rohit Sharma, Manoj Tiwary, Vinay Kumar.
West Indies: Darren Sammy (captain), Lendl Simmons, Adrian Barath, Marlon Samuels, Darren Bravo, Danza Hyatt, Kieron Pollard, Denesh Ramdin (wicket-keeper), Andre Russell, Ravi Rampaul, Kemar Roach, Anthony Martin, Sunil Narine, Kieran Powell, Jason Mohammed.
West Indies sweat on Bravo's fitness for crucial fourth ODI
West Indies batsman Darren Bravo is recovering from the hamstring injury that curtailed his innings in the last One-Day International Monday, but the visitors are continuing to sweat on his fitness for their fourth game against India here Thursday.
The stylish left-hander, who has been a key player for the Windies on the current tour, was forced to retire hurt on 26 while engaged in a promising 55-run, third wicket stand with Marlon Samuels (58).
Bravo was, however, able to walk around freely Tuesday with no discomfort from the injury and was expected to test his fitness while training at the Holkar Cricket Stadium Wednesday. The team officials were hoping that Bravo will be able to suit up.
The 22-year-old, the younger brother of all-rounder Dwayne Bravo, has emerged as one of the leaders of the West Indies batting, and scored a half-century in the opening game in Cuttack last week.
He was outstanding in the preceding Test series, scoring two brilliant centuries in his last four innings.
The West Indies trail 1-2 in the five-match one-day series, after winning the last game in Ahmedabad by 16 runs.
The stylish left-hander, who has been a key player for the Windies on the current tour, was forced to retire hurt on 26 while engaged in a promising 55-run, third wicket stand with Marlon Samuels (58).
Bravo was, however, able to walk around freely Tuesday with no discomfort from the injury and was expected to test his fitness while training at the Holkar Cricket Stadium Wednesday. The team officials were hoping that Bravo will be able to suit up.
The 22-year-old, the younger brother of all-rounder Dwayne Bravo, has emerged as one of the leaders of the West Indies batting, and scored a half-century in the opening game in Cuttack last week.
He was outstanding in the preceding Test series, scoring two brilliant centuries in his last four innings.
The West Indies trail 1-2 in the five-match one-day series, after winning the last game in Ahmedabad by 16 runs.
Irfan waiting to bowl
Irfan Pathan, making a comeback into the Indian team after two years, is eager to cash in on the opportunity given by the national selectors.
Pathan was Monday named in the India squad for the remaining two One-Day Internationals against the West Indies on the back of having had a successful season so far in the ongoing Ranji Trophy where he is the leading wicket-taker with a tally of 21 in four matches. The Baroda all-rounder last played for India during the World Twenty20 in England in 2009.
'I am really happy to get back into the team. It is a great feeling. It has been a long wait for two years and god has fulfilled my dreams. Nothing comes better than playing for your country. If given the opportunity to play, I will try to do my best,' Pathan told reporters.
Pathan was dropped from the Indian team after his bowling form dipped. The ability to swing the ball both ways that made him a regular in the side suddenly disappeared. He had a frustrating domestic season in 2010 when he also suffered a severe back injury.
Pathan remembered the tough times in his career and said it made his return all the more worthwhile.
'It makes every second of the struggle worthwhile. You feel blessed when your hard work is rewarded.'
'The dream to play for the country has always been there. When it is fulfilled, you feel nothing gets better than this. Having all the luxuries in life - having a big car, big house - nothing comes close to this,' said Pathan. He was also in the running for Praveen Kumar's replacement in the Test squad for Australia but lost out to Abhimanyu Mithun.
He would be looking forward to impress the selectors and get a berth in the ODI squad for the tri-nation series in Australia.
Pathan has taken 100 wickets in 29 Tests and and 152 scalps in 107 One-Day Internationals.
Pathan was Monday named in the India squad for the remaining two One-Day Internationals against the West Indies on the back of having had a successful season so far in the ongoing Ranji Trophy where he is the leading wicket-taker with a tally of 21 in four matches. The Baroda all-rounder last played for India during the World Twenty20 in England in 2009.
'I am really happy to get back into the team. It is a great feeling. It has been a long wait for two years and god has fulfilled my dreams. Nothing comes better than playing for your country. If given the opportunity to play, I will try to do my best,' Pathan told reporters.
Pathan was dropped from the Indian team after his bowling form dipped. The ability to swing the ball both ways that made him a regular in the side suddenly disappeared. He had a frustrating domestic season in 2010 when he also suffered a severe back injury.
Pathan remembered the tough times in his career and said it made his return all the more worthwhile.
'It makes every second of the struggle worthwhile. You feel blessed when your hard work is rewarded.'
'The dream to play for the country has always been there. When it is fulfilled, you feel nothing gets better than this. Having all the luxuries in life - having a big car, big house - nothing comes close to this,' said Pathan. He was also in the running for Praveen Kumar's replacement in the Test squad for Australia but lost out to Abhimanyu Mithun.
He would be looking forward to impress the selectors and get a berth in the ODI squad for the tri-nation series in Australia.
Pathan has taken 100 wickets in 29 Tests and and 152 scalps in 107 One-Day Internationals.
Monday, 5 December 2011
Abhimanyu Mithun is the replacement of Praveen Kumar for Australia tour; Irfan Pathan get selected for last 2 ODIs vs West Indies
Abhimanyu Mithun, the Karnataka fast bowler, has been named as Praveen Kumar's replacement in India's Test squad for their tour of Australia. After Praveen was ruled out of the Tests with a fractured rib, the selectors had to add another seamer to the 17-man squad and the place was expected to go to either one of Mithun, Vinay Kumar or Irfan Pathan. Vinay Kumar and Irfan have been left out and Mithun, who has played four Tests for India, the last in Barbados in May, has been called up.
Mithun took six wickets in three Tests in his debut series - the tour of Sri Lanka in July 2010 - and impressed the team management with his strength and spirited bowling on flat tracks. He, however, had to make way for the returning Zaheer Khan and Sreesanth after that series, and waited till May 2011 for his next opportunity in a Test. He took three wickets in the Test against West Indies in Barbados and was subsequently left out of India's tour of England. He has also been out of India's one-day squads, only being called up as a replacement for other players.
He replaced Praveen for the home ODIs against West Indies. He and Vinay both played the third ODI, at Motera; Vinay took 2 for 39 in eight overs while Mithun took just one wicket and conceded 47 runs in his seven overs. Vinay has been a more regular part of India one-day team - he has 13 wickets from his last eight ODIs - but has never been part of an Indian Test squad.
Irfan, meanwhile, has not played for India since 2009, but drew attention because of his performance in this season's Ranji Trophy, in which he is the leading wicket-taker in the Elite division with 21 scalps.
Mithun joins Umesh Yadav, Varun Aaron and Ishant Sharma in India's pace department for the Australia tour, with Zaheer Khan selected provisionally, subject to him proving his fitness before the squad's departure.
Finally West indies won their match against India
t took Darren Sammy and Andre Russell 5.4 overs of mayhem to undo an afternoon of impressive work from India, and plot their first defeat in 12 home games. The pair came together after Ravindra Jadeja pulled off an outfield catch for the ages to remove Kieron Pollard, West Indies' most dangerous batsman on paper. Sammy and Russell proceeded to test that assumption with an unbroken partnership of delightful ferocity that yielded 79, propelling West Indies to a defendable 260. The bowlers, led by the irrepressible Ravi Rampaul, sliced through India's top order and set up West Indies' first win on tour.
Two things have been constant in this series - Rohit Sharma's pristine form, and the game-changing capabilities of the last wicket pair. Under lights, West Indies did enough to overcome both and finish on top. Rohit stoked a sublime 95 after India's top order funked, but ran himself out in a desperate effort to manipulate the strike to be the ninth man dismissed. Abhimanyu Mithun and Umesh Yadav then lashed out 28 for the final wicket in 19 balls to keep West Indies sweating, before Rampaul yorked Mithun to close the game.
Full report to follow ...
25 overs India 116 for 6 (Rohit 33*, Ashwin 7*, Rampaul 3-36) need 145 runs to beat West Indies 260 for 5 (Samuels 58, Sammy 41*, Russell 40*)
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West Indies bowlers' needed all of 21 overs to slice through India's top six, and leave their side poised for their first win of the tour. Rohit Sharma survived through the shambles, but despite his efforts India's unbeaten home run of 11 games looked set to end at Motera. More worryingly, Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir bagged first-ball ducks to extend their runs of poor form, leaving India concerned ahead of the Australia tour. To make matters worse, Virat Kohli and Suresh Raina perished to umpiring errors that could have been reversed by the DRS - not in place for this series thanks to BCCI's opposition to the system.
India's batting blues continued the remarkable turnaround in fortunes from the 45th over of the West Indies innings, when Darren Sammy and Andre Russell came together to pummel 79 runs in no time. The hosts seemed hung-over from the onslaught when they began their chase. Sehwag is yet to make a significant score since the World Cup, but that didn't stop him from chasing a short and wide first delivery without moving his feet. Gambhir followed the very next ball, shouldering arms after misreading an inswinger that straightened to catch him plumb on the crease.
Parthiv Patel and Virat Kohli responded with a slew of boundaries as the new balls flew into, and off, the middle of the bat. Parthiv in particular was in prime touch in front of his home crowd, whipping, on-driving and steering Kemar Roach for fours. Kohli then carved Rampaul through the covers, before drilling him straight and pulling for fours as the chase looked up. It was about to go pear-shaped in a hurry, though.
The debutant offspinner Sunil Narine started off with a mix of offbreaks and knuckle-flicked top spinners, before striking with his stock ball. Kohli was well forward looking to work him with the turn to the leg side, and was struck in front of middle and leg, with the ball sliding further down. The umpire Sudhir Asnani was convinced, though, and Kohli left the pitch spewing a litany of invective in his wake, which should earn him a visit to the match referee's chambers. Marlon Samuels then produced a ripping offspinner that whizzed past Parthiv's forward prod to disturb his stumps.
The arrival of Raina brought about an automatic shortening of length, though he wasn't dismissed by the bouncer this time. A short ball from Rampaul was heading down the leg side as Raina looked to hop across and glance, and it went straight off his thigh pad into the keeper's gloves. Umpire Tony Hill raised the finger, and Raina was as agonised as Kohli, but far more graceful in accepting the decision. Ravindra Jadeja survived after being dismissed off a no-ball, and top-edged the free-hit for a boundary, but his stay ended when Rohit summoned him for an impossible single.
Sunday, 4 December 2011
Pitch report: India Vs West Indies 3rd ODI, Ahemadabad
India would look to seal the series against the West Indies when they they clash in the third One-dayer at the Sardar Patel Gujarat Stadium in Motera here Monday.
For the visitors, it will be their last chance to keep the five-match series alive. The Carribbean team has given a good account of themselves in the two ODIs but inconsistency has brought their downfall.
After losing the second match, despite bouncing back in a stellar fashion, West Indies captain Darren Sammy's blank expression said it all. 'We just can't get over the line though. Sooner rather than later we can get that final push.'
'We'll keep our head up and come strongly at the Indians again,' Sammy said.
For that, West Indies will have to sort out their batting problem that has troubled them througout the Test and ODI series. Another inexplicable collpase at Visakhapatnam left them tottering at 5-163. Lendl Simmons and Ravi Rampaul bailed the team out with gritty knocks. Rampaul smashed an unbeaten 86, hitting the Indian bowlers all over the park.
India had a shaky start with stand-in captain Virender Sehwag, Parthiv Patel and Gautam Gambhir leaving early. But Virat Kohli and Rohit sharma played with maturity to see the team home. Kohli hit his eighth ODI century while Sharma again showed that he has learnt his lessons after being dropped.
Another high point for India was the bowling of the pacers. Youngsters Umesh Yadav, Vinay Kumar and Varun Aaron bowled with pace and swing, exploiting the conditions, and pinning down the West Indies batsmen.
Sehwag may not be scoring runs, but his captaincy has come as a whip of fresh air. Quite like his batting, he has been aggressive with his captaincy. He always had fielders in catching positions that put pressure on the West Indies batsmen. There were no easy runs on offer.
Teams:
India: Virender Sehwag (captain), Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, Parthiv Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Abhimanyu Mithun, R.Vinay Kumar, Umesh Yadav, Varun Aaron, Rohit Sharma, Manoj Tiwary, Rahul Sharma
West Indies: Lendl Simmons, Adrian Barath, Marlon Samuels, Darren Bravo, Danza Hyatt, Kieron Pollard, Denesh Ramdin, Darren Sammy (captain), Andre Russell, Ravi Rampaul, Kemar Roach, Anthony Martin, Sunil Narine, Kieran Powell, Jason Mohammed.
For the visitors, it will be their last chance to keep the five-match series alive. The Carribbean team has given a good account of themselves in the two ODIs but inconsistency has brought their downfall.
After losing the second match, despite bouncing back in a stellar fashion, West Indies captain Darren Sammy's blank expression said it all. 'We just can't get over the line though. Sooner rather than later we can get that final push.'
'We'll keep our head up and come strongly at the Indians again,' Sammy said.
For that, West Indies will have to sort out their batting problem that has troubled them througout the Test and ODI series. Another inexplicable collpase at Visakhapatnam left them tottering at 5-163. Lendl Simmons and Ravi Rampaul bailed the team out with gritty knocks. Rampaul smashed an unbeaten 86, hitting the Indian bowlers all over the park.
India had a shaky start with stand-in captain Virender Sehwag, Parthiv Patel and Gautam Gambhir leaving early. But Virat Kohli and Rohit sharma played with maturity to see the team home. Kohli hit his eighth ODI century while Sharma again showed that he has learnt his lessons after being dropped.
Another high point for India was the bowling of the pacers. Youngsters Umesh Yadav, Vinay Kumar and Varun Aaron bowled with pace and swing, exploiting the conditions, and pinning down the West Indies batsmen.
Sehwag may not be scoring runs, but his captaincy has come as a whip of fresh air. Quite like his batting, he has been aggressive with his captaincy. He always had fielders in catching positions that put pressure on the West Indies batsmen. There were no easy runs on offer.
Teams:
India: Virender Sehwag (captain), Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, Parthiv Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Abhimanyu Mithun, R.Vinay Kumar, Umesh Yadav, Varun Aaron, Rohit Sharma, Manoj Tiwary, Rahul Sharma
West Indies: Lendl Simmons, Adrian Barath, Marlon Samuels, Darren Bravo, Danza Hyatt, Kieron Pollard, Denesh Ramdin, Darren Sammy (captain), Andre Russell, Ravi Rampaul, Kemar Roach, Anthony Martin, Sunil Narine, Kieran Powell, Jason Mohammed.
Thursday, 1 December 2011
Pitch report: 2nd ODI India Vs West Indies, Vizag
Having made a mess of the run chase in the opening cricket ODI against West Indies, India will have much ground to cover in the second match here Friday.
The young bowling attack did well to restrict the Caribbean side to 211, but the batsmen did not click. Rohit Sharma saved the blushes for India with a gritty 99-ball 72 and the tail finished the job. He got support from Ravindra Jadeja, who made 62-ball 38. The two guided the innings after India were struggling at 59 for five.
India's stand-in captain Virender Sehwag has asked the batsmen to score runs.
'There is no excuse for anybody not scoring runs. We have to back our batting. We have some exciting youngsters playing for last three four years,' he said.
He would like to believe that the Cuttack match was an aberration as India have dominated in the shorter format at home. With the likes of Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli and Suresh Raina, in the team, the batting looks in safe hands.
Sehwag himself would be eager to give the inings a good start. He was bowled by Andre Russell.
West Indies would be hoping to carry on their good form and put the pressure on the hosts after their good showing.
Roach was at his best and troubled the Indian batsmen with the extra bounce that he got from the wicket. He took three wickets, dismissing Parthiv Patel, Gautam Gambhir and Virat Kohli which triggered the collapse.
The hosts will be bolstered by the fact that they have all the three matches at Dr Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium. Though the stadium is hosting a match after more than two years.
Teams
India: Virender Sehwag (captain), Parthiv Patel (wicket-keeper), Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, R.Ashwin, R.Vinay Kumar, Varun Aaron, Umesh Yadav, Ajinkya Rahane, Manoj Tiwary, Abhimanyu Mithun and Rahul Sharma.
West Indies: Darren Sammy (captain), Lendl Simmons, Adrian Barath, Marlon Samuels, Darren Bravo, Danza Hyatt, Kieron Pollard, Denesh Ramdin (wicket-keeper), Andre Russell, Kemar Roach, Anthony Martin, Jason Mohammed, Sunil Narine, Kieran Powell and Ravi Rampaul.
The young bowling attack did well to restrict the Caribbean side to 211, but the batsmen did not click. Rohit Sharma saved the blushes for India with a gritty 99-ball 72 and the tail finished the job. He got support from Ravindra Jadeja, who made 62-ball 38. The two guided the innings after India were struggling at 59 for five.
India's stand-in captain Virender Sehwag has asked the batsmen to score runs.
'There is no excuse for anybody not scoring runs. We have to back our batting. We have some exciting youngsters playing for last three four years,' he said.
He would like to believe that the Cuttack match was an aberration as India have dominated in the shorter format at home. With the likes of Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli and Suresh Raina, in the team, the batting looks in safe hands.
Sehwag himself would be eager to give the inings a good start. He was bowled by Andre Russell.
West Indies would be hoping to carry on their good form and put the pressure on the hosts after their good showing.
Roach was at his best and troubled the Indian batsmen with the extra bounce that he got from the wicket. He took three wickets, dismissing Parthiv Patel, Gautam Gambhir and Virat Kohli which triggered the collapse.
The hosts will be bolstered by the fact that they have all the three matches at Dr Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium. Though the stadium is hosting a match after more than two years.
Teams
India: Virender Sehwag (captain), Parthiv Patel (wicket-keeper), Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, R.Ashwin, R.Vinay Kumar, Varun Aaron, Umesh Yadav, Ajinkya Rahane, Manoj Tiwary, Abhimanyu Mithun and Rahul Sharma.
West Indies: Darren Sammy (captain), Lendl Simmons, Adrian Barath, Marlon Samuels, Darren Bravo, Danza Hyatt, Kieron Pollard, Denesh Ramdin (wicket-keeper), Andre Russell, Kemar Roach, Anthony Martin, Jason Mohammed, Sunil Narine, Kieran Powell and Ravi Rampaul.
Tuesday, 29 November 2011
India won 1st ODI at Cuttack
Rohit Sharma hit a responsible 72 under pressure as India survived a top-order collapse to post a thrilling one-wicket win over the West Indies in the opening one-dayer on Tuesday.
India were reeling at 59-5 following Kemar Roach's three-wicket burst and Andre Russell's double strike before reaching the 212-run target with seven balls to spare in front of 45,000 spectators at the Barabati stadium in Cuttack.
Sharma came to his team's rescue with an 83-run stand for the sixth wicket with Ravindra Jadeja (38) in the day-night game, which was held up for nearly five minutes during India's innings due to disturbances in the stands.
Sharma, returning to the side after recovering from a finger injury, then added 42 valuable runs with Vinay Kumar (18) to help his team to a 1-0 lead in the five-match series. He cracked one six and three fours in his ninth half-century in one-dayers.
The hosts needed nine runs to win in the last two overs before Umesh Yadav hit the winning boundary off seamer Darren Sammy as India posted their 10th successive one-day win at home.
Paceman Roach removed Parthiv Patel, Gautam Gambhir and Virat Kohli in his sharp opening spell before Russell accounted for skipper Virender Sehwag (20) and Suresh Raina to put pressure on India.
India earlier put in a disciplined bowling performance to restrict the West Indies to a modest total despite Darren Bravo's impressive half-century. Left-handed Bravo, who hit two hundreds in the recent Test series against the hosts, top-scored for the West Indies with a 74-ball 60 for his sixth half-century in one-day internationals.
Bravo, who survived a difficult caught-and-bowled chance off off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin on 26, was bowled by part-time spinner Suresh Raina in the 35th over after hitting six fours.
The West Indies were struggling at 52-3 before Bravo steadied the innings with a 75-run stand for the fourth wicket with Danza Hyatt (31). The tourists failed to build on Bravo's effort and they added just 44 runs in the last 10 overs, with tailender Russell making a 20-ball 22.
Indian pacemen Yadav and Varun Aaron each bagged two wickets. The tourists raced to 52 off 10 overs after being put in to bat but lost top-three batsmen Lendl Simmons (19), Adrian Barath (17) and Marlon Samuels (10) in the process, with Vinay Kumar, Yadav and Aaron each taking a wicket.
India were reeling at 59-5 following Kemar Roach's three-wicket burst and Andre Russell's double strike before reaching the 212-run target with seven balls to spare in front of 45,000 spectators at the Barabati stadium in Cuttack.
Sharma, returning to the side after recovering from a finger injury, then added 42 valuable runs with Vinay Kumar (18) to help his team to a 1-0 lead in the five-match series. He cracked one six and three fours in his ninth half-century in one-dayers.
The hosts needed nine runs to win in the last two overs before Umesh Yadav hit the winning boundary off seamer Darren Sammy as India posted their 10th successive one-day win at home.
Paceman Roach removed Parthiv Patel, Gautam Gambhir and Virat Kohli in his sharp opening spell before Russell accounted for skipper Virender Sehwag (20) and Suresh Raina to put pressure on India.
India earlier put in a disciplined bowling performance to restrict the West Indies to a modest total despite Darren Bravo's impressive half-century. Left-handed Bravo, who hit two hundreds in the recent Test series against the hosts, top-scored for the West Indies with a 74-ball 60 for his sixth half-century in one-day internationals.
Bravo, who survived a difficult caught-and-bowled chance off off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin on 26, was bowled by part-time spinner Suresh Raina in the 35th over after hitting six fours.
The West Indies were struggling at 52-3 before Bravo steadied the innings with a 75-run stand for the fourth wicket with Danza Hyatt (31). The tourists failed to build on Bravo's effort and they added just 44 runs in the last 10 overs, with tailender Russell making a 20-ball 22.
Indian pacemen Yadav and Varun Aaron each bagged two wickets. The tourists raced to 52 off 10 overs after being put in to bat but lost top-three batsmen Lendl Simmons (19), Adrian Barath (17) and Marlon Samuels (10) in the process, with Vinay Kumar, Yadav and Aaron each taking a wicket.
Monday, 28 November 2011
Dwayne Bravo to make comeback
Dwayne Bravo, the West Indies allrounder, has said his ankle injury has healed and he expects to be fit for the Big Bash League in Australia next month. Bravo, who has signed for Sydney Sixers, is also expected to take part in the Caribbean Twenty20 for Trinidad and Tobago.
"My ankle injury has healed and it stood up well during training. Last week it felt very sore but it is now fine and the stiffness is gone," Bravo told CMC. "I will be flying out to Australia for the Big Bash but this time around I will also be available for Trinidad and Tobago in the regional series, as we look to defend our title."
Bravo's career has been blighted by injury in the past few years, since he suffered a serious ankle injury in 2008 which kept him out of the game for eight months. He suffered a big blow this year when his World Cup ended due to a knee injury he sustained in West Indies' first game of the tournament. He returned for the home one-day series against Pakistan but asked for a break after the first two ODIs against India in June to work on his game.
Since then Bravo has turned out for Chennai Super Kings in the Champions League T20 and for Trinidad & Tobago in the Regional Super50 tournament. The matches against Bangladesh A were to be his first first-class matches since the Tests in Sri Lanka last year but his return to the longer format has now been delayed further.
"I am now focussing on strengthening
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