Windies thump India in fourth ODI

Antigua. West Indies finally regained some pride by crushing India at Sir Viv Richards stadium by 103 runs. All thanks to an inspired performance by their bowling department led by Leg-spinner Anthony Martin who finished with 4-36. India were all out on 146 in the 39th over in reply of West Indies’s 249-8.

The start to the West Indian inning was as usual, they were reduced to 12-2 in the fifth over, soon they were reeling at 103-5 when Simmons got run out at 67 of 78.

Another batting collapse looked ascertain at that stage, but Kieron Pollard was determined to wipe out his image of a minnow basher. His innings of 70 of 72 balls was a blend of caution and aggression, he was well supported by Baugh who scored 39 of 57 balls. Russel’s 14 ball 25 ensured that West Indies ended with 249 for 8, their best score of this season.

India’s chase was derailed by Sammy’s initial burst, who removed both the openers. A very nervous Manoj tiwary was gone for 2 and Parthiv Patel, who lived dangerously perished at 26. Russel then made life tough for Badrinath who holed out to a quick bouncer from the all rounder.

But it was Martin who doomed India when he removed their prolific trio of Virat Kohli 21, captain Suresh Raina 10 and an in-form Rohit Sharma 39. Virat was smartly stumped by Baugh, Raina tried to break free but was caught at mid wicket.

Rohit Sharma, who was unbeaten so far in this series top edged Martin to leave India at 124 for 7. After this, it was always asking too much from the tail.

Time for fringe players to get a go

Antigua. India has already won a five match one day series by getting an assailable lead of 3-0 against West Indies. It’s time they measure the bench strength of the bench strength as this is already a second string team. Team management would definitely want to give Ishant Sharma a chance as in the absence of Zaheer and Shreesanth in the upcoming test series he would have to shoulder much responsibility. R Ashwin may also come in for Harbhajan Singh and Manoj Tiwari may replace Shikhar Dhawan in the opening slot.

Things have been really gloomy for the West Indies side. The second string Indian side has proven too good for them. They have played good in patches but lacked the flair and the killing instinct to win matches. The controversy around Gayle’s selection and Darren Samy’s criticism for not attending the West Indies Players' Association awards ceremony hasn’t helped either. They need some inspiration to lift their side, they would be playing to retain some pride in the next two games.

There have been some pretty good prospects in this series so far for India. Rohit Sharma’s renaissance has been phenomenal, and there has been someone standing up every time the team has been in a dock. If India can beat a test playing nation with their second string team, then in Fletcher’s words, the world champions can dominate world cricket for the next five to 10 years.

No UDRS in India-England series

Mumbai. India’s denial of the UDRS continues. The BCCI has sent a notification to the ECB that it does not want the system in the upcoming India-England test series scheduled in July this year.

India will travel to England mid July for a 4 test match series and according to the ICC rules, UDRS can be used in a series only if both the concerned boards agree for its use in the series.

Indian players have been vocal critics of the UDRS as skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Sachin Tendulkar have been regularly opposing the system for not being 100 percent error proof. On the contrary English players like Graeme Swann have been big fans of UDRS.

"The reason India does not want it is because it will favour our bowlers," said John Emburey, former England off-spinner. "It [UDRS] has been massive for spinners because they are now getting wickets against batsmen playing on the front foot. The system has shown how the ball would go on to hit the stumps and umpires have now got it in their minds that they can declare batsmen out," he explained.

Emburey said the DRS has forced batsmen to use the bat more often against the spinners. "What DRS has done is, it has made batsmen play with their bat rather than hide behind the pad. This gives bowlers more chances of edges and catches because they have to play at the ball," he added.

India beat West Indies in rain hit game

Port-Of-Spain. The second one dayer between India and West Indies was all about which team improves more. India just did what the doctor has ordered by lifting their game several notches up in the rain hit game. West Indies on the other hand also did slightly better but couldn’t match the grit and professionalism of the Indian side.

Batting first, West Indies, at one stage were looking at 270-280 with 192 for 3 at the 40 over mark. Thanks to another middle order collapse they ended with 240 for 9 at the end of 50 overs. Mishra sealed his career best figures with 4 for 31 while Munaf took 3 wickets.

When Shikhar Dhawan was out with just 8 runs on the board in the third over, it seemed that India was up for a top order wobble. But Parthiv Patel and Virat Kohli had other plans, they stitched together a second wicket partnership of 120 and took the team to safety.

The Indian chase was on course when rain stopped play in the 22^nd over. When the game resumed they were given a revised target of 83 off 90 balls. It was a bit stiff, but Raina and Kohli, who are fresh from the IPL stint smoked a few big hits to see India home.

West Indies strategy faltered yet again. Both their leg spinners where kept out of the attack till the 17^th over on a pitch where Amit Mishra ripped apart the Caribbean batting line up. Their poor show in the field continued as they dropped Kohli when he was on 38. He made the West Indians to pay heavily for this let off as he went on to play a match winning of 81.

Test for junior World Champs

Port of Spain. India’s first one day outing after they won the World Cup on April 2 beating Sri Lanka is here. The Indian side which would take on West Indies may look depleted as at least 6 or 7 faces which featured in the summit clash at the Wankhede are missing, but Caribbean captain Darren Sammy will ill afford to take this team lightly. They were comprehensively beaten by the Suresh Raina lead team in the lone T2o game, and the chinks in the West Indies armour were well exposed.

The young Indian players would like to seize this opportunity to cement their place in the squad. Indian batting was a little edgy at the T20 game and Suresh Raina will be aware of it. He would want his batsman to apply themselves better. As far as bowling is concerned Ishant Sharma may come in for Praween Kumar or Munaf Patel.

The West Indies team would like to restore their lost pride. The squad has been strengthened with Dwayne Brawo, Ramnaresh Sarwan and Kieron Polard joining the ranks.

But Darren Sammy is not happy with the pitches he has been getting of late. West Indian pitches which have always been pace bowler’s paradise have suddenly started assisting spin.

This was also the sole reason why they lost 2-3 against Pakistan last month. He is certainly concerned about how his batsman would handle Harbhajan singh and R Ashwin with these spin friendly pitches. He asked for pitches which would assist pace and bounce.

However, the grounds man may not be able to help Darren Sammy’s cause as rain may play spoilsport. The sun has been playing hide and seek at the Oval since the T20 game.

Team India leaves for Caribbean challenge

Mumbai. A young and inexperienced Indian cricket team left for the West Indies tour under the leadership of Suresh Raina. It is also the first assignment of Duncan Fletcher after his appointment as team India coach. Team India’s mission Caribbean looks an uphill task as the team wears a depleted look with most senior players pulling out due to injury concerns and to rest.

Sachin Tendulkar, Yuvraj Singh, Virendra Sehwag and Gautum Gambhir will miss the complete tour, while Dhoni, Laxman, Drawid and Zaheer will join the ranks for the test series. Team India will face their first challenge after being crowned World Champions 2 months ago.

Suresh Raina, stand in captain for the lone T 20 and the one day series termed this opportunity as a turning point for him. Clad in blue team India blazer Raina said, "I feel very proud to be leading this Indian team. We have recently won the World Cup and now we have a new coach in Duncan Fletcher and we hope to do well in the West Indies."

India will play a Twenty20 in Trinidad (June 4) and five ODIs on June 6 (Trinidad), June 8 (Trinidad), June 11 (Antigua), June 13 (Antigua) and June 16 (Jamaica).

The ODI series would be followed by a three-match Test-rubber in Jamaica (June 20-June 24), Barbados (June 28-Jul 2) and Dominica (Jul 6-Jul 10).

ODI and T20 squad: Suresh Raina (capt), R Ashwin, S Badrinath, Harbhajan Singh (vc), Virat Kohli, Praveen Kumar, Amit Mishra, Munaf Patel, Parthiv Patel (wk), Yusuf Pathan, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Ishant Sharma, Rohit Sharma, Vinay Kumar, Manoj Tiwary, Shikhar Dhawan.

Test squad: M S Dhoni (capt), VVS Laxman (vc), M Vijay, Abhinav Mukund, Rahul Dravid, Virat Kohli, S Badrinath, Harbhajan Singh, Ishant Sharma, Sreesanth, Amit Mishra, Pragyan Ojha, Zaheer Khan, Munaf Patel, Suresh Raina, Parthiv Patel.