-as they seek to level series
KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC – Swept aside in the opening match by a powerful batting display, West Indies will be looking to hit back against India when the second One-Day International of the four-match series bowls off today at Sabina Park.
The regional side’s bowlers were put to the sword as India piled up 339 thanks to Yuvraj Singh’s
stunning century, and the Windies’ bowlers will be hoping to be more frugal in their second outing in three days.
No bowler was spared as Yuvraj reeled off a series of amazing strokes to count 10 fours and seven sixes in an innings that propelled India after they won the toss and batted first.
West Indies made a game of it thanks to Shiv Chanderpaul’s 63 from 59 balls and Ramnaresh Sarwan’s 45 from 42 balls, but they fell short to lose by 20 runs.
Coach John Dyson said he had taken heart from his side’s run chase and stressed it augured well for today’s match.
“I was very proud of our chase. The boys tried really hard to win the match,” said the former Australia opener.
“Even though we lost the match we were not outplayed so we have a lot to look forward to on Sunday. It is a matter of going back and planning and being confident when we go into Sunday match. There is a lot still to play for.”
Captain Chris Gayle echoed a similar sentiment, pointing out that West Indies batting had been source of inspiration for winning on Sunday and levelling the series ahead of the final two matches in St Lucia next weekend.
“We came close and the effort can’t be faulted. All the players did a very good job in the batting but it would have been great to see one of our batsmen go on to get a major score,” Gayle said.
“Chasing such a huge total we were always up against it but we played well and were able to get close. It was a great match and we will use it as motivation going forward into Sunday’s match where we will be looking to square the series.”
West Indies will look for more from fast bowler Jerome Taylor who has appeared out of sorts in recent weeks. He went for 74 runs from his 10 overs on Friday and Gayle and Dyson will be asking for better figures from the attack’s spearhead.
He will be backed up by rookie seamer Lionel Baker, with medium pacers David Bernard Jr and Dwayne Bravo providing support for the middle overs.
Though most of their key Windies batsmen got starts, none carried on and the regional side will want a big score from one of them.
Gayle’s breezy 37 from 33 balls showed he was in good touch and if he gets stuck into the Indian attack on Sunday, the visitors could find themselves chasing a bundle.
The recalled Runako Morton, along with Chanderpaul and Ramnaresh Sarwan also showed glimpse of good form and will want to build on this.
With Yuvraj firing away, India batted around him in partnerships to post a score that would have always been challenging for the Windies batsmen.
Possessing the likes of opener Dinesh Karthik, Gautum Gambhir, Rohit Sharma and captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, India will again back themselves to put up or chase down a big total.
Dhoni will no doubt be asking for a better effort from his bowlers, however, after they all leaked runs during the Windies run chase.
TEAMS (from)
WEST INDIES – Chris Gayle (captain), Denesh Ramdin (vice Captain), Lionel Baker, Darren Bravo, Dwayne Bravo, Sulieman Benn, David Bernard, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Narsingh Deonarine, Runako Morton, Ravi Rampaul, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Jerome Taylor.
INDIA – MS Dhoni (captain), Yuvraj Singh, Subramaniam Badrinath, Gautam Gambhir, Harbhajan Singh, Ravindra Jadeja, Dinesh Karthik, Praveen Kumar, Abhishek Nayar, Ashish Nehra, Pragyan Ojha, Yusuf Pathan, Ishant Sharma, Rohit Sharma, RP Singh, Murali Vijay.
