Batting a headache for Indian think tank

The West Indians have given themselves a chance to stay in the series by winning at their favourite ground, the Motera stadium in Ahmedabad.

Once again it was the final overs bowled by the Indians that allowed the West Indies to put up a fighting total and then, once the Indian top order had been carved out, there was no recovery this time despite the heroics of Rohit Sharma.

The series has now become interesting and what the matches so far have shown is that one-day cricket is alive and well in India. Some may argue that it is the smaller towns which don't often get the chance to see top-class cricket up close which are providing the full houses, but the cricket also has been riveting, with the fortunes swinging from one end to the other to keep not only the spectators at the ground hooked, but also those watching on television.

The West Indians also tweaked their team a bit and included a genuine spinner (Sunil Narine) in their ranks and he bowled superbly to strangle the Indians.

The tourists also batted sensibly, trying to play themselves in and not looking to whack the ball out of the ground. They thus had some useful partnerships and wickets did not fall in quick succession, which can really put the batting side in a retrieval mode and thereby lose precious overs. With wickets in hand, they could throw their bats around not just in the batting power play, but also in the remaining overs.

It was the skipper, Darren Sammy, who played audaciously, along with the multi-talented Andre Russell, and it was the last 10 overs that sealed it for them. When a team finishes strongly in the final overs, they go in believing that the tide has turned in their favour — and that's how it was.

Good form

Ravi Rampaul, who missed out on the man of the match at Vishakapatnam, took his annoyance out on the Indian top order. Parthiv Patel battled, but got a beauty from Samuels, and Kohli and Raina also fell cheaply to decisions that both did not like. Rohit Sharma continued his good form and, with the stubborn Ashwin for company, they inched closer to the total. But the Indian tail did not wag as the Windies' had and that in the end meant that the Windies won narrowly and have kept themselves alive in the series.

The Indian tail not wagging has prompted the selectors to pick Irfan Pathan and he will definitely be handy down the order with the bat. How well he is bowling can only be seen at the match, but if he is back to getting the ball to swing in late to the right-hander, then he could prove useful indeed.

India's fielding has been a joy to watch. The bowling has been good too until the final overs, but it's the batting, apart from Sharma and Kohli, that is a headache for the think tank.

—ProfessionalManagement Group