while the bowlers made full use of the helpful
conditions bowling West Indies out for 171 to
hand the visitors a huge 102-run win in a rain-
affected game in Trinidad. India wasted a fine
start provided by openers Shikhar Dhawan and
Rohit Sharma before Kohli took charge and
boosted India's total with his 14th ODI
hundred while pacers Bhuvneshwar Kumar,
Ishant Sharma and Umesh Yadav shared 8
wickets between them to help India notch up
an important win with the bonus point.
Chasing a massive 312-run target, West Indies
got off to a bad start when they lost two quick
wickets to Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the fourth
ODI at Queen's Park Oval. Bhuvneshwar picked
up the wickets of the dangerous Chris Gayle
(10) and Darren Bravo (1) in successive overs
to rattle the West Indies run chase before rain
played spoilsport and stopped the game for
over an hour.
The target was reduced to 274 in 39 overs for
West Indies, but India wasted no time in
wiping out whatever hopes the hosts had with
a triple blow soon after the break. Marlon
Samuels, Kieron Pollard and Johnson Charles
fell in the space of 10 balls (Ishant Sharma
accounting for Samuels and Charles and
Bhuvneshwar Kumar getting rid of Pollard) to
leave Windies reeling at 69/5 and India with a
fantastic chance to secure the bonus point
they needed to stay alive in the competition.
Umesh Yadav too got into the act soon after
and had West Indies crawling on all fours with
the wickets of Denesh Ramdin, skipper Dwayne
Bravo and former skipper Darren Sammy. India
had to restrict WI to less than 219 for the
bonus point and they looked good enough to
do that with the hosts struggling at 113/8 in
the 25th over.
India's push was victory was held up by a
defiant 50+ run stand between Sunil Narine
and Kemar Roach. The pair capitalized on some
poor Indian fielding to bring up the 50 run
stand and give Kohli's men some nervous
moments in the field. It was left to Ravnindra
Jadeja to wipe out the tail, as the left-armer
had both the batsmen out in successive
deliveries to give India a handsome win.
If the win gave India some much-needed
respite, an on-field argument between Suresh
Raina, who dropped a catch off Sunil Narine
earlier, and Jadeja, who was the unlucky
bowler then, would have given them as much,
if not more, cause for concern. But with the
likes of MS Dhoni and Duncan Fletcher in the
dressing room, India would surely simmer
down the issue.
Earlier, India had skipper Virat Kohli (102),
who hit a fighting century as India overcame
mid-innings wobbles, to thank as he helped the
visitors post a challenging 311 for seven
against West Indies. Shikhar Dhawan (69) and
Rohit Sharma (46) laid a strong foundation
with their 123-run stand and Kohli ensured
that their hard work did not go waste as he
made up for the failure of the middle-order
with his gritty knock.
After being sent in to bat, Dhawan and Sharma
provided a solid start to India with 123-run
stand, which was broken when the left-hander
chose to play aggressively after spending a
watchful 23 overs at the crease. The left-
hander opened up after India had crossed 100-
run mark. He chose local lad Sunil Narine for
some punishment, hitting him for two sixes
and a four. However, Dhawan could not
continue in the same vain, as he holed out to
Darren Barvo at deep square leg when he
attempted to hit one off Kemar Roach over the
ropes. His knock came off 77 balls and
contained eight fours and two sixes.
Sharma too joined him in the pavillion when
he edged one behind off Tino Best. In space of
seven overs India lost Suresh Raina (10),
Dinesh Karthik (6) and Murali Vijay (27).
Ravindra Jadeja's run out made things worse
for India but Kohli pulled India out of trouble
and on track for a much-needed win.
Kohli faced 83 balls in his innings, his 14th
One-day century, and punished the Caribbean
bowlers with 13 fours and two sixes. After 40
overs, India had 210 runs on the board and
only Kohli to bat with tail-enders as pace duo
of Kemar Roach and Tino Best had polished off
the Indian middle-order.
Kohli responded to the challenge in the best
possible manner as India scored 101 runs in
the last 10 overs and his contribution was 67
runs. R Ashwin supported Kohli well with his
18-ball 25 as they shared a 90-run stand for
the seventh wicket in 8.2 overs.
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