What looked impossible at the start of the tour and especially after the first one-dayer happened as the West Indies beat India for the fourth consecutive time to win the one-day series comprehensively. The last game was more of a morale-boosting affair for the Indians as the Test series starts on Friday, but the West Indies were up to it.
Once again, it was the batting that let India down, as apart from Sehwag and Yuvraj, nobody looked comfortable at the crease. Dravid’s unfortunate run-out meant that India had wasted the wicket of their most influential batsman. What the skipper brings to the contest is a sense of calm even in the frenetic world of limited-overs cricket, and what India needed was that serenity as they set about chasing the target set by the Windies. The West Indies may have felt that they were about 20 runs short than what they should have got, and that too after the first-ball dismissal of their opener Chattergoon. Gayle getting a bit of lip from the Indian bowlers, who thereby only showed their frustrations made sure that he did not let up, and though he fell to a wild slog off Sehwag after getting a half-century, he had made certain that the ship was not only steadied after that first-ball wicket but also on its way fast enough to worry the Indians. Sarwan loves the Queen’s Park Oval almost as much as Lara, and both played some superb shots to keep the Sunday crowd in good cheer. Laughter is never very far in a West Indian crowd, and as Lara began to step on the accelerator, the crowd too started to get up from their seats more than earlier. His dismissal to a lovely flat throw by Agarkar may have disappointed the spectators who had come to see a big final innings from their prince, but the Indians were relieved as they now knew they had a chance to contain the West Indies to a reasonable total. Dwayne Bravo carrying on from his half-century in the previous game kept the momentum to a certain extent, but wickets were falling too and that is never easy for a team hoping to make a huge total. India went in with four bowlers, which was a change from their earlier policy of going with five regular bowlers and it worked as Sehwag bowled superbly to finish with Gayle’s wicket and gave only 29 runs in his 10 overs. India’s fielding, apart from that top effort from Agarkar, was shoddy, though Yuvraj was his usual excellent self at “Jonty’s corner” and square-leg.
India, bringing in the extra batsman Uthappa, didn’t help as he played a loose drive at a widish outswinger from Hinds and left. That bowling move by Lara also tells how the West Indies captain is not afraid to do the unexpected. Hinds is at best a part-time bowler but one who can swing the new ball, and Lara gave it to him so that he could move it around. Not only did Hinds get Uthappa, but also the dangerous Dhoni who was quite rightly promoted up the order, and once the skipper got run out, the pressure was on. Yuvraj, stroking the ball in a manner reminiscent of Lara at his best was capable of taking India home in that form but he was deceived by Mohammad, who was impressive.
Sehwag too played well, but fell in the 90s again and with the others just coming in to mark their attendance at the crease, India were found wanting again. It’s been a disappointing show alright but the Indians have shown a great ability to bounce back from defeats, and while its been the losses in the Test series that they have come back from, now it will be interesting to see if they can reverse it in the West Indies.
