It
was a crunch encounter in Group A of ICC Champions Trophy
2006. India squared up against West Indies at Motera Stadium,
Ahmedabad. Both the teams were confident after winning their
opening games. It was a perfect scenario for Rahul Dravid’s
Men-in-Blue to avenge their opponents’ domination over
them in recent months.
Brian Lara won the toss and asked India to bat first. India
started with Sehwag striking three exquisite boundaries yet
he failed to capitalise on his start. Irfan Pathan came, and
soon went for a duck. Rahul Dravid joined Sachin Tendulkar
before Bradshaw dismissed Tendulkar (39) to leave India at
69 for three. Yuvraj Singh then added 61 runs for the fourth
wicket with Dravid. Yuvraj struck four blissful fours in his
27 while Dravid was run-out soon after for 49. It was due
to the late resurgence of MS Dhoni that India reached a respectable
total. Dhoni made 51 off only 65 balls as India finished on
223 in their 50 overs. Ian Bradshaw finished with three wickets.
The
chase began in an emphatic fashion. Chris Gayle capitalised
on some ragged bowling from Irfan Pathan. Munaf Patel on the
other hand bowled consistently and also accounted for Chris
Gayle (34). Dwayne Bravo was surprisingly promoted to number
three. He shared a 67-run patnership with Shivnarine Chandrapaul
before being trapped by Harbhajan Singh for 16. Chanderpaul
fell soon after to Sehwag for a well-made 51. Runako Morton
and Ramnaresh Sarwan moved easily and just when it seemed
as if West Indies had the game wrapped up, things turned around.
Morton was trapped leg-before by Agarkar that saw a flurry
of wickets. Lara was bowled by Irfan Pathan for four. With
the score at 218 for 5, confusion between Marlon Samuels and
Sarwan resulted in the latter bring run-out for 53. The match
had turned on its head as West Indies needed five runs off
the last over. Agarkar gave India exactly what they needed
– Dwayne Smith’s wicket. Carlton Baugh came and
rightfully took a single to give Samuels the strike. A boundary
and a wide confirmed West Indies’ victory over India
by 5 wickets. West Indies also qualified for the semi-finals
of the tournament.
India
have major worries with their batting line-up. Sehwag’s
indifferent form and Pathan’s failure at number three
leaves the middle-order under immense pressure. With their
final round game against Australia, India must get their act
right to avoid an early exit from the Champions Trophy. As
far as West Indies are concerned, they could not have asked
for anything better. With victories over favourites Australia
and India, their confidence must be sky high. Their next game
against England also gives them the opportunity to experiment
different players in different roles.
|
Virender Sehwag's
struggle with the bat continued
MS Dhoni's blitz
added respectability to the score
Ajit Agarkar
gave India an outside chance for victory which was never to
be
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