Indians out of comfort zone

 

KINGSTON: There were several acts of commission by the Indian team in Saturday’s one-run defeat at the Sabina Park, but four middle-order batsmen getting dismissed playing lofted shots should explain the mishap adequately. Sure, the match was a ‘thrilla’, as they say in these parts of the world, but why it got so close is something that should keep Dravid and Chappell preoccupied till the next contest.

 

Dravid was candid enough to admit that his side had muffed up the run-chase, but denied that choosing to bat  second yet again had any part to play in the setback. “I am not fixated on such records (an 18th consecutive victory chasing a target), it’s just that this run had to end some time,” he said. Nevertheless, the Indian skipper would have been somewhat displeased that the chain of victories had to be broken in tackling such a modest score.

 

Sometimes small targets can be tricky because they can lull the side chasing these into complacency. But 199 should have been a cakewalk even on a sluggish pitch. The West Indies were under greater pressure, having lost the first match. They struggled right through their innings in the second too as the Indian bowlers, led by superb opening spells from Ajit Agarkar and Irfan Pathan, and followed by spinners Harbhajan Singh and Ramesh Powar, allowed few liberties for scoring runs and picked up wickets at regular intervals.

 

The run chase, after that splendid effort in the field, had to be clinical rather than flamboyant. The gameplan was obvious: hang in there, and runs will come, albeit slowly. Indeed, at various stages, the asking run rate had even come below five per over, which meant that risks were totally unnecessary. In the context of the game, four batsmen — Pathan, Kaif, Raina and Powar — getting out to airy-fairy shots was diabolical.

 

This was not a track for strokeplayers, and while neither Ramnaresh Sarwan nor Yuvraj Singh are quite stonewallers, both showed extraordinary ability in coming to terms with the track, the pressure, and the needs of their respective teams. Sarwan, tipped as the true successor to Lara — and not just as captain — showed character and acumen in making an unbeaten 98. Yuvraj, perhaps the best finisher in the one-day game since Michael Bevan, showed why he might also become best batsman in the business in a short while from now.

 

Their innings were almost identical in number of runs scored, balls faced and the fact that they both missed deserving hundreds. The one, and as it turned out, major point of difference, was that while Sarwan remained undefeated, Yuvraj was dismissed with two deliveries remaining and one run to score for victory.

 

The last over was heady and memorable, with India needing 10 runs for victory and Yuvraj on strike. When two boundaries came off the first three deliveries, one off a thick edge, and the other a glorious cover drive, it seemed Lara’s decision to go with Bravo was to be his singular act of weakness. But off the fourth, Bravo won the day with a cleverly disguised slower delivery that yorked Yuvraj, to send the big crowd into celebrations that lasted hours after the match.

 

It was a famous win for the West Indies. They had fielded brilliantly, bowled with purpose and held their nerve. These were the qualities that have been missing from their cricket for some time now, so India are warned. The remaining three matches are going to be tough.

 

For Chappell, there was to be no R&R after completing one year in office. It was back to the drawing board, working out new combinations, gameplans. Perhaps a fit Sreesanth to replace Munaf, perhaps Pathan batting lower because of the fatigue in these conditions after bowling 10 overs.

 

Most importantly perhaps, a lecture on his team on how not to look a gift horse in the mouth.

 

 

Mahendra Singh Dhoni's bid to reclaim the slot of top ODI batsman got off to an inauspicious start in the Caribbean, with scores of 18 and two in the first two matches. With his second successive cheap dismissal on Saturday, the wicketkeeper-batsman's average has dropped below 50 for the first time. He now has 1,392 runs in 44 matches at an average of 49.71

 

But it was not all bad news for Dhoni in the second ODI against West Indies as his catch to dismiss Chris Gayle was his 50th dismissal in one-dayers. His tally now reads 52 (43 catches and nine stumpings)

 

The one-run defeat that tied the five-match series 1-1 was the third occasion India had lost by the narrowest of margins.

 

The previous two were both inflicted by Australia at the World Cup - in Brisbane on March 1, 1992 and in Chennai on October 9, 1987

 

The previous narrowest victory margin for the West Indies against India was two runs in Ahmedabad on January 7, 1988. It was their second one-run victory in ODIs after the one in Sydney on December 13, 1988

 

Out of the 18 instances of one-run wins in one-day cricket, Australia have recorded five, followed by New Zealand and India - three each

 

Saturday's defeat also snapped India's 17-match winning sequence in ODIs while chasing. Interestingly, the match saw West Indies' 297th ODI win while it was India's 297th defeat in the shorter version of the game

 

Yuvraj Singh, who almost took India to victory with an innings of 93, registered his 24th ODI half-century. He now has an aggregate of 717 in 15 matches in 2006 at 65.18, including two 100s and four fifties. Only Sri Lanka's Kumar Sangakkara has tallied more runs this year - 820 in 20 matches at 43.16

 

Ajit Agarkar became the first Indian bowler to claim 10 wickets in the West Indies when he dismissed the centurion from the first match, Chris Gayle. Irfan Pathan, who claimed three wickets for 45 runs, had his best bowling figures against the West Indies, improving upon his two for 34 at RPS, Colombo, on August 7, 2005

 

Caribbean skipper Brian Lara is without a fifty against India in his last nine ODI innings, after his 60 off 43 balls at Kallang on September 5, 1999. The maestro's last half-century at Sabina Park came against South Africa on April 28, 2001

 

Ramnaresh Sarwan was adjudged man-of-the-match for his innings of 98, the seventh time he has been named so in ODIs and the second against India. The Guyana right-hander had got his first ever man-of-the-match award in one-dayers against India at Jamshedpur on November 6, 2002. His 22nd fifty took his ODI career aggregate to 3,292 runs in 99 matches at 45.72. The average is the best among current West Indian batsmen

 

Ian Bradshaw's bowling figures of three wickets for 33 were his best against India, bettering his two for 40 in the previous match

 

 

Captain Rahul Dravid said failing to execute the gameplan was reason for defeat that ended their sequence of successful chases.

 

“Had to end one stage or the other, probably not when chasing a modest target. But we did not go about our plans well,” Dravid said.

 

Dravid attributed the low scoring game to a combination of bad batting and the slow wicket. He, however, took heart from the fact that picking Ramesh Powar ahead of RP Singh turned out to be right.

 

“We got our selection right. The wicket had slowed down and the spinners proved to be crucial for both the sides. But we did not execute our plans well. Hopefully we can learn from here and move on.”