Perth: India recorded a hard-fought four wicket win over West Indies at the Western Australia Cricket Ground (WACA).
After restricting West Indies to 182 runs in 44.2 overs they registered their fourth consecutive victory to book a place in the quarter-finals of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015.
Mohammad Shami, who recovered from a left knee injury through an ultrasound-guided injection after missing the match against UAE, destroyed the West Indies batting line-up with a spell of 3 for 55 backed by fellow pacer Umesh Yadav and spinner Ravindra Jadeja with two wickets each.
At one stage it looked like West Indies would be all out for less than the UAE’s 102 against India. But skipper Jason Holder cracked a quick 57 off 64 balls with four boundaries and three sixes to bring some respect to the total.
India lost wickets at regular intervals during the chase, but skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni (45 not out) and Ravichandran Ashwin (16 not out) out together an unbeaten 51 run partnership for the seventh wicket to ensure victory with 65 balls to spare.
West Indies won the toss opted to bat. Holder remarked that it looked a good wicket to put the runs on the board. However, he may not have expected his batting line up to crash like it did.
With the fifth ball of the fifth over, Shami had Dwayne Smith caught by wicketkeeper Dhoni for 6. Fellow opener Chris Gayle would have followed had Umesh Yadav held on to a catch at third man, again off Shami.
In the eighth over, Marlon Samuels was run out in a mix up with Gayle for 2. Two balls later, Gayle was again dropped, this time by Shami at third man, off Yadav.
Off the last ball of the ninth over, the stadium erupted as Gayle finally fell. Going for a pull, Gayle, on 21, skied the ball to Mohit Sharma, who held on to the catch.
During his 27-ball stay he hit two fours and six.
Yadav then removed Ramdin for a duck, leaving West Indies 38 for 4 off ten overs.
In the next nine overs, Lendl Simmons and Jonathan Carter added 32 runs before Mohit removed Simmons, forcing him to top edge to Yadav at long leg for 9.
With half the side back in the pavilion for 67, Ravichandran Ashwin, who was generating good bounce and spin from the wicket, snared Carter. Going for a sweep, he top edged to Shami at long leg for 21. Andre Russell quickly followed going for a big hit, caught by Virat Kohli at long off.
Darren Sammy kept the scoreboard moving through a knock of 26 before he edged to Dhoni off Shami.
Holder took charge and decided to go for his shots. He came down the track and lifted Jadeja over long off for his first six. In the next over Holder smashed Shami for a six over the bowler’s head. Holder also bravely stepped out to Ashwin and hit him for a six over extra cover, racing to his half century in 56 balls.
In the 41st over, Jerome Taylor hit Yadav high to Rohit, who dropped the easy catch. Taylor and Holder put on 51 runs for the ninth wicket in 7.2 overs before Yadav had Taylor caught and bowled for 11. The West Indies innings ended when Holder, going for another big hit, was caught at long off by Kohli.
Chasing a run rate of 4.10 shouldn’t have been a tough task for the mighty Indian batting line up. In the fifth over, Jerome Taylor had Shikhar Dhawan playing into the hands of Sammy at second slip for 9. Kohli came out to bat backed by huge applause from the fans, getting off the mark with a flick to long leg.
Kohli and Sharma added just nine runs when Taylor had Sharma edge to wicketkeeper Ramdin for 7. The catch was Ramdin’s 23rd dismissal of the World Cup, going past former West Indies wicketkeeper Ridley Jacob’s record.
Ajinkya Rahane and Kohli batted confidently and put on 43 runs in eight overs. Kohli played some delectable drives before becoming an Andre Russell victim, going for a pull into the hands of Marlon Samuels at long leg for 33. In 15 overs, India were 65 for 3 still needing 120 to win.
Suresh Raina joined Rahane and they put on another 15 runs before Kemar Roach had Rahane caught behind. The review for the edge was inconclusive but the third umpire upheld the decision.
All eyes turned towards Dhoni, but Rahane departed, slashing at Dwayne Smith for 22. At the half way mark, India needed 69 runs with five wickets in hand.
Ravindra Jadeja and Dhoni pulled India closer to the target with a 27-run partnership before Jadeja miscued a pull off Russell to Samuels at deep square leg for 13. Dhoni upper cut Russell for a six over third man to ease the tension.
The West Indies bowlers began to leak runs through extras, making it easier for the batsmen. They gave away 26 extras out of which 19 were wides and three no balls. Dhoni and Ashwin captalised to ensure victory.
