Led from the front by Rahul Dravid, India went one-up in the one-day series, beating the West Indies quite comfortably in the first game at the Sabina Park ground in Kingston, Jamaica.
That the match started itself is a tribute to the groundstaff, for the rains were so heavy the previous day as well as on the morning of the match that it didn’t look as if there would be any play at all. If anything, the fact that only 10 overs were lost shows that all the worries about West Indies hosting the World Cup are unfounded. This tendency of the developed world to keep doubting the capability of the developing world to manage world-class events reeks of a superiority complex which has no place in the modern world. Why, there are some who are doubting South Africa’s ability to host the 2010 Soccer World Cup when the 2006 one hasn’t even begun!!
Be that as it may, the cricket never really reached the heights that are expected when the West Indies get off to a flying start. Chris Gayle, who has been in indifferent form, came good with a bang as he carved the Indian attack to score a century. He and Morton gave a good solid start to the West Indies, but the batsmen down the order struggled against Harbhajan and Agarkar, and so the West Indies would have known that they were at least 30 runs short of what they should have got, especially after that opening partnership.
There is a case for Lara to bat at No. 3 as that would give him more overs to bat and that gives the team a good chance of putting up bigger totals. Agarkar was the pick of the Indian bowlers and brought all his experience into play, mixing his deliveries cleverly to finish with figures of two wickets for 38 in his allotted nine overs.
India needed a steady start and that’s what they got till Sehwag tried to go over the top and was run out as he watched the fielder and not the ball. India continued with the policy of promoting Pathan at three and this will not work always, but when it does, it gives the batting a lot more depth.
Yuvraj, who was the Man of the Series for the last two series, got bogged down, but unlike in the previous series where he showed admirable patience, he lost it this time and was well caught by Samuels. That was possibly the only redeeming feature of the West Indian fielding, which otherwise was shockingly inept with wild throwing, bad backing up and simple catches being dropped. Kaif was the one to benefit the most from these lapses and he capitalized by getting a half-century which should give him a place in the team for the World Cup next year.
It was Dravid though who was simply outstanding as he batted with rare disdain and showed that there was nothing to worry about this West Indian attack. He played shots all round the ground and there were two which stood out. He first hooked Taylor to the boundary when the bowler banged it in short and when the next ball was pitched up, it was driven back past the bowler and hit the boundary before the bowler had completed his follow-through. His dismissal was a surprise because there was no pressure at that time, but Dhoni hit a six and a four and made sure that there were no problems in getting to the target. Well begun is half done, and India have begun well, and with the evidence of the first game, unless the West Indian skipper produces 100-plus innings like his counterpart, it looks like India should sweep this series as they have done the previous two against Pakistan and England
