A consolation win at last. West Indies eventually managed to taste a victory against the world champion, and that also came in a huge package; 103 runs. Let's not mention any more that India was fielding its second tier team because skipper Raina doesn't want to hear that. Anyway, this is the same team that has already snatched a series with three consecutive wins. But boy, what a comeback from deteriorating West Indian side.
Transition phase or not?
I have a feeling that West Indies might create the same situation as they did against Pakistan few months ago. After losing the 5 match series with 3 consecutive defeats, the Caribbean side replied strongly by winning the last two. What I see is the probability of the history repeating itself. Well, I am not able to figure out if West Indies cricket is going through decline phase or is in transition mode. But it is good if they can learn how to win games without their legendary players. As the board's relationship with those high profile players are worsening day after day, there is a chance that the young players will be left without these mentors. This has both good and bad effects though. It's good in a sense that the players will be mentally strong by facing the challenges themselves. However, in absence of good mentor to guide them during the low esteem level, the players may fall in the trap of frustation and inferiority complex, which ultimately affects their performances. As a result, the players might quit the game.
Power of Young Brigade
Kieron Pollard finally gave the glimpse of what he is capable of, and what the West Indies fans were waiting for. He handled the fragile West Indies team with immense care and took the scorecard from 89-4 to 199-6. His score of 70 runs came off 84 balls, something which is quite unusual from Pollard, but he did exactly what his team wanted at that stage. He hit 2 huge sixes and 4 fours in his inning. He was well supported by wicketkeeper Carlton Baugh, who played a cautious role by scoring 39 runs off 96 balls. 3rd ODI sensation Andre Russell was in a mood of destruction once again as he hit Ashwin for four in the very second ball of his inning. His score of 25 runs came in pretty quick succession as he hit 3 fours and 1 six from 14 balls he faced.
Praveen Kumar was the pick of the Indian bowlers with 3 wickets giving 37 runs in 10 overs. Amit Mishra grab 2 victims, but he was quite expensive as well.
Indian's Reply
Indian replied with a new set of openers; Manoj Tiwary replaced Shikhar Dhawan at top position. Manoj Tiwary has good rapport in domestic cricket, but it was baby-faced Parthiv Patel who was in action. Manoj Tiwary (2) was never in good position and survived once when Darren Bravo missed an easy catch at slip.
Tiwary's luck didn't help him second time as he edged Sammy's ball and gave an easy catch to wicketkeeper Baugh. Parthiv Patel (26), Virat Kohli (22) and Rohit Sharma (39) were the only batsmen who had some respectful moments at the pitch, while Subramaniam Badrinath (12), Suresh Raina (10) and Yusuf Pathan (1) failed to make any impact in batting. India's inning lasted for only 39 overs as the whole team returned to pavilion at 146 runs.
Congratulatons to West Indies for being competitive lastly. Let's see if India can manage to make the series 4-1 or West Indies can achieve another win to make it 3-2.
