After looking at the various posts of the deserters
who did not follow the match, here is a brief report on the match:
Indian innings: Dwayne Smith continued where Johnson had left off when rain intervened in the last match. Rather you could say the Indian batsmen duplicated their performance again WI with each of the top order batsman in a hurry to follow the other back to the pavilion.
RD was flummoxed by Smith giving a simple catch to Baughand they must have been serving special paranthas in the pavilion because VS followed soon being bowled by Smith. Raina edged a good outswinger to Gayle while Yuvi seems to be trying to get too cute in his batting style and edged one to the wkt keeper.
So we had lost the top 4 within the first 10 odd overs for a measly 38. While there was something in the pitch for the bowlers- Smith is definitely not a Michael Holding that Indian batsmen made him in this match.
Dhoni played his customary aggressive knock but when a compulsive hitter like Kapil Dev calls his shot "crap" there must be something wrong with it. Already down 4 wkts with plenty of overs left Dhoni went to hoist one out of the ground and was bowled in a most embarassing fashion. Bravo just used his effective slower ball tool to outfox AA leaving India in doldrums at 78.
The one difference between the Aussies and WI bowling ended up being the wicket of SRT. While wkts fell at one end SRT just watched at the other. Fortunatley Bhajji came as an able support and provided the only partnership worth being labelled a fightback. They mised caution with aggression to take the score form 78-6 to 156 before HS snicked a Gayle delivery into the hands of the keeper.
SRT meanwhile looked in full control and India was hoping that he could carry the team to 200. But RP Singh hit one straight and the ball deflected through bowler Samuels' fingers to leave SRT stranded of the crease as he was backing up. To make matters worst SS was run out too going for an unneccesary third run after RPS was bowled by Gayle and indian innings folded at 162.
WI innings:
WI started with caution and the match looked all but over at tea break when Windies were 44-0 but then a collapse followed marked by some tight but not brilliant bowling by Indians and indifferent if not pathetic batting display by Windies.
Chanderpaul might have an excuse that he was surprised by a short ball and Morton was caught behind from a great delivery by Munaf Patel. MP bowled really well and was supported by other bowlers as SS got Morton caught behind & AA and umpiring conspired to get Samuels LBW off an inside edge.
Dwayne Smith blasted 3 fours in a row but was also (this time legitimately) out LBW to AA soon. Gayle was consumed LBW by RP Singh looking very callous in his shot. Bravo mantained an unneccesary aggressive attitude and after being dropped by Munaf was out very next ball caught out of his crease by Dhoni off HS.
If Indians thought that victory was all theirs- Lara quickly brought back the fight and looked masterly in his batting. No doubt if he came at his regular spot India would have been in bigger trouble. hS meanwhile was creating all sorts of trouble for other batsmen and put Hinds out of his misery thorugh caught and bowled after beating hin on 4 succesive deliveries.
WI batting looked deep as Lara and Bough tried to secure a victory but it was Bhajji again who struck and finally Dravid was able to hold on to one instead of sharing a catch with Dhoni. Only Lara stood between the Indians and a victory but the Indian bowlers waited their time to get the other batsman Collymore (LBW) to snatch a victory.
Eventually it was a good bowling effort from the Indians but still more of a WI loss rather than an Indian victory. WI did not look sharp in batting except for Lara who came in too late to secure a victory as he ran out of partners. Thye will definitely be tougher and less indifferent in the next outing without the comfort of a secured finals birth behind them.
AuthorTopic: Match report- India vs WI tri series (Read 2109 times)
