Fri, 02 Dec 2011-India vs West Indies, West Indies Tour of India 2011-12, 2nd ODI (Bulletin)

Kohli, Rohit give India 2-0 lead

Despite 86-runs from a rampaging Ravi Rampaul, India went 2-0 up in the series courtesy a superbly paced 163-run stand between Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma as India chased down a respectable target of 270 runs at Visakhapatnam. Rampaul hit the highest score by a No.10 in ODIs to rescue West Indies from 170 for 9, with a 99 run stand for the last wicket in company of Kemar Roach. But, all that was in vain as India overhauled the target without too many troubles.

West Indies were asked to bat first under overcast conditions by Virender Sehwag. After a fifteen minute delay due to drizzle, there was assistance for the Indian seamers with the two new balls. And, it did not take long for wickets to come, an outswinger from Varun Aaron in the second over deviated enough to take Adrian Barath’s outside edge on way to Parthiv Patel.

The new man in, Marlon Samuels was given a reprieve early in his innings when Rohit Sharma missed a regulation chance at second slip but it didn’t cost India much, Raina took a low catch to send him back for four.

Meanwhile, the other opener Lendl Simmons overcame an edgy start to settle into a nice groove dispatching Yadav for back to back boundaries in tenth over. With him was Darren Bravo, the visitors’ best batsman on the tour so far. The two added 30 for the third wicket before Vinay Kumar removed Bravo and Danza Hyatt fell lasted only two deliveries, the double-wicket maiden from Vinay dented West Indies severely.

Dinesh Ramdin became Yadav’s third victim as West Indies were precariously placed at 63 for five in the seventeenth over. All the while, Simmons was watching helplessly from the non-strikers’ end but he found some support in the form of Kieron Pollard, who got off the mark with a nudged boundary. The next few overs were a period of recovery for West Indies during which Simmons crossed fifty and the team score went into three figures.

In the 24th over, Pollard crashed Ashwin over long-on for two consecutive sixes but the offie struck back on the third delivery, the ball hit Pollard’s glove before hitting the pad en route to the keeper.After the 56-run stand, two more wickets fell in quick succession- Darren Sammy and Andre Russell couldn’t do much. At 149 for 8, Ravi Rampaul walked to the crease with India moving in for the kill. However, there was still gas left in the Windies’ tank.

Rampaul teed off with a powerful sweep, hit Ashwin over the straight boundary but lost his senior partner Simmons for 78 through a run-out. He was joined by last man, Kemar Roach when West Indies were 170 for 9. Throwing caution to winds, Rampaul decided to have some fun, hitting three sixes and a boundary in the next two overs. with Roach playing a nice second fiddle, Rampaul hit five sixes in a bludgeoning 66-ball 86 to take his team to a decent 269 for nine. Roach finished unbeaten on 24.Shocked by the sudden counter-attack from Rampaul India started on a bad note, Parthiv Patel was smartly caught by Darren Sammy off Roach in the second over. In the same over, India could have lost Virender Sehwag as well only for Sammy to spill a simpler chance.

Both the Delhi boys, Sehwag and Gambhir survived some nervous moments before Ravi Rampaul, the bowler was helped by an agile Barath in the covers to send back Gambhir, India in a spot of bother at 29 for 2.

A nervous looking Virat Kohli was helped by two streaky boundaries to get going and Sehwag got his second life when Bravo dropped one in the twelfth over. With the two Indian batsmen struggling to put bat to ball properly, rain intervened to give them time to regain their composure.However, the thirty minute break didn’t help the edgy Kohli. On the first ball after the break, Kohli was lucky to survive an inside edge that missed the stumps by a whisker. Few more close calls followed before the Sehwag holed out in the deep after making 26.

At 84 for 3, India’s two most promising youngsters joined forces in a bid to take India forward. Sharma’s first scoring shot was an audacious swish against Rampaul that landed beyond the mid-wicket boundary.

With Sharma scoring the odd boundary required to keep pace with the asking rate, Virat quietly slipped into accumulation mode. He played smart by picking gaps in the field, consequently the Indian score board moved along nicely. The two were able to score at around 5 per over to take India close to 200 and bring up the hundredth run of their flourishing stand.

Having already crossed 70, Kohli shifted gears and unleashed a flurry of boundaries to bring up his eighth ODI hundred. Even after reaching three figures, he continued in the same vein to take India close.However, there was a minor hiccup as Kohli and Raina were dismissed in quick succession but Rohit and Ravindra Jadeja saw India through with eleven balls to spare.