World Of Cricket

Chennai: A maiden century from Kieron Pollard went in vain as India registered a 34-run victory over West Indies in the fifth and final ODI to wrap up the series 4-1 on Sunday.

Members of India's cricket team and support staff pose with the trophy

Hosts India won the toss and chose to bat in Chennai, where they posted 6-267 in their 50 overs. The West Indies could only reach 233 all out in reply, as India sealed victory with five overs to spare.

Manoj Tiwary grabbed the spotlight in the match with his first ODI century. Making his sixth appearance for India in a 50-over contest, Tiwary made 104 not out before retiring with cramp in the sweltering conditions at the MA Chidambaram Stadium.

The 26-year-old had helped to steady the home side’s innings after they lost opener Ajinkya Rahane and first drop Parthiv Patel to ducks inside the first over.

Kemar Roach (2-46) was the man to strike for the West Indies, and the early blows left India 2-1 after just three balls.

Gautam Gambhir rallied with 31 runs alongside Tiwary, helping his side to 84 before he fell lbw to Anthony Martin (2-47). Tiwary then teamed up with Virat Kohli (80) and the pair put on 117 vital runs, before the newcomer was forced to withdraw.

Kohli was the next to depart, caught by Marlon Samuels at long on from the bowling of Martin. Cameos from Rohit Sharma (21) and Suresh Raina (16 not out) helped to add late runs, but a less-than-convincing total left the door open for the West Indies to challenge.

The tourists’ hopes of a determined run chase suffered an immediate blow, as they lost Lendl Simmons to a first-ball duck, with Irfan Pathan (2-42) claiming the scalp.

The rest of the top order fared little better, as Kieran Powell (15), Samuels (six) and debutant Jason Mohammed (two) all failed to make an impression.

The loss of Denesh Ramdin for 14 left the West Indies on 5-78 and seemingly on course for a swift demise. Pollard rallied the cause with a quick-fire 119 runs from 140 balls, and he received valuable support from Andre Russell (53).

The pair made 89 runs for the sixth wicket, before Russell was run out by Gambhir’s sharp fielding.

While Pollard and Russell had done well to keep the contest alive, the West Indies soon began to run out of wickets and overs. None of Darren Sammy (three), Sunil Narine (eight ) or Kemar Roach (0) provided meaningful assistance to Pollard.

Fittingly, the all-rounder was the final wicket to fall, with Rahane taking a catch at long on from Raina’s delivery.

Ravindra Jadeja led the wicket-takers for India (3-62), while Abhimanyu Mithun and Pathan had two apiece.

Result: India won by 34 runs.

Man Of The Match: Manoj Tiwari (India).

Winner Of The Series: India by 4-1.

Man Of The Series: Rohit Sharma (India).

HQ Photo Gallery: Coming Soon.

Comments from both captains, man of the match and man of the series:

Darren Sammy (Captain of West Indies): ”Congratulations to Pollard on his first one-day hundred. It was really good to watch. We have been paying some good cricket, we have been fighting throughout, but unfortunately we are not finishing things off. Everybody expected us to roll over, we didn’t. The attitude was good to see. I’d like to congratulate the boys on the effort, the way they supported me in the tough series. We can only move forward from here. Congratulations to Sehwag and his team, we can hold our heads up.”

Virender Sehwag (Captain of India): ”Satisfied with the young team. Especially with the young fielding and bowling unit. They were all eager to play. I asked everybody can you take a break, they said no, so I had to take the break. Good to see Manoj come in and score the century. It’s a good end to the season. Beating England 5-0 and West Indies 4-1.”

Manoj Tiwari (Man Of The Match): ”I enjoyed it. It wasn’t coming onto the bat, it made my game easier. Generally I play spin retty well, so I made sure I took advantage of the loose balls. I have to say that the team management have backed me really well, and made me comfortable in the dressing room. I didn’t hydrate enough before the match, that is my mistake. I want to dedicate the award to all the people who died in the Calcutta Hospital tragedy.”

Rohit Sharma (Man Of The Series): ”I didn’t want to think about the past. Whatever has happened has happened. It was a new beginning, I analysed my game, I rectified the mistakes. Hopefully it won’t be repeated. It [the injury in England] was frustrating. I was in good form from WI, and wanted to carry on. Hopefully no more injuries. Touch wood, I will be playing for a long long time. I have been watching closely MS Dhoni and Yuvraj bat with the tail and finish matches off, so I have learned from them.”

Indore: Riding on skipper Virender Sehwag’s record 219, the highest ever individual score in an ODI, India thrashed the West Indies by 153 runs in the fourth ODI.

Virender Sehwag reacts after getting to a double-ton © Associated Press

Riding on skipper Virender Sehwag’s record 219, the highest ever individual score in an ODI, India thrashed the West Indies by 153 runs in the fourth One-Day International at the Holkar Stadium here Thursday. India now take an unassailable 3-1 lead in the five-match series.

Sehwag set ODI’s highest individual score, surpassing Sachin Tendulkar’s 200 unbeaten, with some sensational hitting and powered India to its highest ODI total of 418/5.

Sehwag’s 149-ball carnage of the West Indies bowling was laced with 25 fours and seven sixes.

Tendulkar’s 200 off 147 balls (25×4, 3×6) came against South Africa at Gwalior, around 500 km from here and also in the state of Madhya Pradesh, in February 2010. He was the first cricketer ever to score a double century in ODIs.

Sehwag, who has two triple centuries in Tests, now has the distinction of being India’s top scorer in both Tests and ODIs. Sehwag’s Test best is 319 against South Africa in Chennai in 2008.

For West Indies the target was a huge challenge. All they needed was a great start and a big partnership, but couldn’t get either. Opening batsmen Lendl Simmons (36) and Marlon Samuels (33) were flashy and perished soon.

Wicketkeeper Denesh Ramdin scored a fighting run-a-ball 96 (which is highest ODI score by a West Indies wicket keeper) but didn’t get good support from the other end.

Virender Sehwag wagon wheel

Riding on Sehwag’s power-packed performance, India surpassed its best ODI total of 414/7 against Sri Lanka at Rajkot in 2009.

The stand-in captain, Sehwag was lucky to win the toss for the fourth consecutive time in the series and decided to bat.

The explosive opener took his regular partner Gautam Gambhir (67) to open the innings, having batted with Parthiv Patel for three matches without any success. In fact, the top-order batting was becoming bit of a bother for India.

But Sehwag responded the way only he can, tearing apart the West Indies bowlers. The spectators were literally up on their feet as Sehwag dealt in fours and sixes.

Sehwag and Gambhir blasted 176 runs in 22.5 overs, setting the pace for the big total on a belter of a track.

Gambhir, who survived a dropped chance, hit 11 fours before being run out.

Suresh Raina, who was also going through a bad patch in the series contributed 55, and was involved in a 140-run stand with Sehwag. Raina was also run out of from Andre Russel throw from the deep.

Sehwag was the dominating partner in both the partnerships. He stroked the ball with immaculate timing. He got a life when he was on 171 with West Indies captain Darren Sammy dropping a sitter.

Excitment was pitch high as Sehwag neared his double century. He made the most of the life and got past Tendulkar’s record with a four through point off Andre Russel, sparking celebrations in the packed Holkar Stadium.

On reaching the landmark, Sehwag punched the air in elation and raised his hands to acknowledge the cheers from the crowd. Sehwag’s double ton came in 142 balls.

He was finally dismissed by Kieron Pollard, caught by substitute Anthony Martin at long on.

Sehwag’s top ODI score before this innings was 175 against Bangladesh in the World Cup opener earlier this year.

Result: India won by 153 runs.

Man Of The Match: Virender Sehwag (India).

HD Highlights: Coming Soon.

HQ Photo Gallery: Click here to watch ‘Viru’ in frames.

Ahmedabad: Fast bowler Ravi Rampaul took a superb four-wicket haul as West Indies ended India’s 11-game winning streak at home with a 16-run victory in the third One-Day International on Monday to keep the series alive.

West Indies celebrate Gautam Gambhir's wicket © AFP

The rampaging Rampaul took 4-57 to help bowl out India for 244 in 46.5 overs in reply to West Indies’ total of 260-5 at Sardar Patel Gujarat Stadium. It was the hosts’ first ODI loss at home since going down to South Africa in the group stage of the World Cup in March.

India were led by Rohit Sharma’s fluent knock of 95 as he resurrected the innings from 105-6 in the 21st over. He smashed 10 fours and a six in 100 balls to keep the match in the balance until he was the second last man out in the 44th over.

Sharma, who struck 72 and 90 not out in the previous two games, put on a 91-run stand with Ravichandran Ashwin (31) before being run out by a direct throw from West Indies captain Darren Sammy.

“It was a good fight back from the boys especially the spell from Rampaul and debutant (Sunil) Narine. Sharma tried to take the game away but we stuck at it,” said a delighted Sammy.

India was on the back foot early in the chase when Rampaul dismissed captain Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir for ducks with the first two balls of the second over of the innings.

Sehwag was caught behind dangling his bat outside off stump while Gautam Gambhir was trapped lbw shouldering arms to a ball that moved in sharply for India to slip to 8-2.

After spinners Marlon Samuels and Narine had taken a wicket each, Rampaul dismissed Suresh Raina (2) caught behind down the leg side in a doubtful decision with replays suggesting the ball had touched the thigh pad. Rampaul also dismissed Abhimanyu Mithun in another spell to seal victory.

Earlier, Sammy and allrounder Andre Russell put together a rollicking 79-run unbroken stand to propel the visitors after a slow start. Sammy clobbered 41 off 17 balls and Russell smashed 40 off 18 to boost the total after Samuels had made 58.

Sammy and Russell were helped by some wayward bowling as Mithun went for 23 runs in the 49th over and Umesh Yadav for 20 in the 50th.

“When the two big-hitters, Russell and Sammy, were batting it was difficult for us as they were connecting well. I told my boys to bowl as many yorkers as they could, but they not do it,” Sehwag said.

Sammy finished with two sixes and five fours while Russell struck two sixes and four fours during a fruitful partnership that also included some smart running by the pair.

The two built on the good work of Samuels, who steadied the innings with a 93-ball knock of 58 that included five fours and a six.

Samuels, who smashed two consecutive fours off Mithun and later belted Yadav for a six and two fours in an over, was out after the powerplay in the 33rd over when he tried to create space on the off side but was bowled by spinner Ashwin.

Denesh Ramdin (38) and Kieron Pollard (29) were others to contribute to the score. Vinay Kumar was the pick of India’s bowlers with 2-39 while Yadav was the most expensive, conceding 75 in nine overs.

The two teams travel to Indore on Tuesday for the fourth match which will be played on Thursday.

Courtesy: WICB

Result: West Indies won by 16 runs.

Man Of The Match: Ravi Rampaul (West Indies).

HQ Photo Gallery: Click here and enjoy.

Visakhapatnam: Virat Kohli compiled his eighth hundred in One-Day Internationals as India won the second match on Friday night to take a 2-0 series lead over West Indies.

Virat Kohli celebrates his century

Chasing 270 for victory, Kohli (117) and Rohit Sharma (90 not out) batted with a lot of maturity and added 163 for the fourth wicket to give India victory by five wickets at the Dr YS Rajashekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Stadium.

This came after left-hander Ravi Rampaul blasted his way to an unbeaten 86 from the Number 10 position to deny India’s hopes of restricting West Indies to a far lower total.

The powerful Rampaul hit six fours and six sixes in his 66-ball innings to lift West Indies to 269-9. It was the highest score by a Number 10 in the history of ODIs.

Rampaul, whose highest score in ODIs before this match was an unbeaten 26, added 99 in 14 overs for the unbroken final wicket with Kemar Roach (24 not out).

They came together with the Windies tottering at 170-9 and batted out the last 18 overs to post a challenging target.

Pace duo Umesh Yadav (3-38) and R. Vinay Kumar (2-43) picked up the first five wickets to fall, reducing the visitors to 63-5, before opener Lendl Simmons (78) and Kieron Pollard (35) stemmed the rot with a 56-run stand for the sixth wicket.

Simmons anchored the innings with his patient 102-ball knock but was run out with West Indies on 170 and with just the last pair left to bat.

In the second half of the match, Man-of-the-Match Kohli hit 14 boundaries before edging a catch behind with India still 23 away from the win.

But Sharma, who brought up his second consecutive half-century in the series, kept his calm to take India home with 11 balls to spare.

India lost Parthiv Patel and Gautam Gambhir early but Kohli and captain Virender Sehwag (26) added 55 for the third wicket to steady the ship.

The visitors were still in the hunt after Sehwag departed trying to clear off-spinner Marlon Samuels over the long-off boundary and India were reduced to 84-3.

But the stand between Kohli and Sharma put paid to their hopes of levelling the series.

The third One-Day International will be played in Ahmedabad on Monday.

Result: India won by 5 wickets.

Man Of The Match: Virat Kohli (India).

Cuttack: Rohit Sharma’s fighting 72 has guided India to a thrilling one-wicket win over West Indies in the first ODI.

Rohit Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja run a single © AFP

Chasing 212, the Indian top-order succumbed to Kemar Roach (3-46) and Andre Russell (2-29) before Sharma shepherded the lower order and putting on a crucial 83-run partnership with Ravindra Jadeja (38) and R Vinay Kumar making 18.

But with 11 needed, Sharma and Vinay Kumar both fell and it was left to Varun Aaron (6) and Umesh Yadav (6) to take India home.

Darren Sammy, Kieron Pollard and Anthony Martin were the other wicket-takers for the visitors.

India’s reply started aggressively before Parthiv Patel (12) fell in the fifth over with the score on 37 as he cut a wide Roach delivery straight to Martin at point.

Gautam Gambhir (4) fell in the same over as he slashed at an away-going bouncer and edged it straight to Denesh Ramdin behind the stumps.

Six runs later, India were 47 for 3 as Roach cleaned up Virat Kohli (3) and Russell uprooted Virender Sehwag’s (20) stumps with the score at 51.

Suresh Raina (5) also did not lost long as he was early into the drive off Russell and spooned a simple catch to Darren Bravo at mid-on to give West Indies control of the match.

But Sharma and Jadeja batted sensibly, looking for singles to rotate the strike and keep the scoreboard ticking over until they were well-set to look for boundaries.

Jadeja fell with 70 needed and R Ashwin (6) was run out to give West Indies the upper hand again with India 159 for 7, still 52 runs adrift.

Sharma and Vinay Kumar looked set to take India home before West Indies struck.

Sharma missed a flick off Martin and the ball crashed into the stumps after a deflection from the pads with India needing 11 of 29 balls.

Pressure got to Vinay Kumar in the next over as he found Roach at mid-off while trying to hit Darren Sammy over the in-field.

Aaron and Yadav played several dot balls as the target came down to nine off 12 but both struck a crucial boundary each off Sammy to seal the win.

Earlier, India elected to field and were in control of the proceeding as the visitors kept losing wickets regularly.

Darren Bravo top scored with 60 and eight other batsmen made double figures but Danza Hyatt’s 31 remained the second-highest score.

Six Indian bowlers shared the wickets with Umesh Yadav and Varun Aaron claiming two and Vinay Kumar, Ashwin, Jadeja and Raina taking one each.

The second game of the five-match series will be played at Vishakhapatnam on Friday.

Result: India won by 1 wicket.

Man Of The Match: Rohit Sharma (India).

Yuvraj Singh

Yuvraj Singh 29, who was the ‘man of the tournament’ of the World Cup 2011 win at home in April has opted out of the upcoming one-day series against the West Indies for health reasons and will also miss Test Series in February 2012.

Shabnam Singh ( Yuvi’s Mother) “Yuvraj had been troubled by bouts of coughing and vomitting during the 2011 World Cup but had ignored the problem during the tournament, assuming it was due to stress.”

After the World Cup Yuvraj went for medical advice and tests revealed “a golf-ball sized” growth on his left lung tumor.Yuvraj, who played in two of three Test matches against the West Indies this month in Delhi and Kolkata, was not picked for next month’s Test series in Australia.

Yuvraj wrote on his Twitter page “I am absolutely fine, just need to get match fitness and training. Will be back soon,” he said.

Yuvraj Singh twitter Id is : @yuvsingh09 you all can wish him a speedy recovery there.