A lively pitch made for the most exciting 25 overs of the series, and arguably the whole ODI season in the West Indies. The home fast bowlers asked the Indian batsmen plenty of tough questions, most of them fumbled, and while he didn't have all the answers, Virat Kohli was well above the pass mark and continued to fight it out.
Kemar Roach and Andre Russell exploited the bounce available on the moist Sabina Park surface to reduce India to 21 for 2, Kohli and Manoj Tiwary then added 58 in nine overs without ever looking completely comfortable, but Kieron Pollard restored balance with the timely wicket of Tiwary. Rohit Sharma, the highest run-getter in the series so far, joined Kohli in another quick unbroken 46-run partnership to give India the edge, especially because the run-rate read five an over despite all the plays and misses, and all the edges.
Against the brand new ball, neither Parthiv Patel nor Shikhar Dhawan looked comfortable. Parthiv, who had actually looked comfortable against the short ball in the earlier matches, was done in on the hook, and Dhawan on the cut as the bouncer cramped him up. Tiwary and Kohli then went through uncomfortable moments, and West Indies even paid for their eagerness in the field. Tiwary was only one when a short ball lobbed off his wrist band, wide of second slip, but Darren Sammy could only watch Lendl Simmons run from gully and dive in front of him. Tiwary hit a six and a four in his run-a-ball 22 before Pollard induced the edge.
Even before Tiwary was taken, he had been made to look out of place. He shuffled across twice to break free, thick-edging one and hitting a huge six off the other. Kolhi meanwhile didn't have to resort to any innovation. You could see the man trusted his natural game to fight through the tough conditions. For a man who favours the front foot, Kohli didn't show too many problems transferring the weight, and more impressively wasn't caught back when the bowlers tried the surprise full ball.
There were edgy moments, yes. Sammy's lack of pace would have meant an opportunity for release, and he was drawn into a drive away from the body. The edge, though, flew wide of slip. Pollard, who put in extra effort on the responsive pitch, got one to bounce shoulder-high from just short of a length. Kohli was beaten, but he did the right thing, dropping the wrists and trying to move out of its line. One thick edge went past gully, another delivery nipped in but he survived the lbw because of the extra bounce in the pitch. In the 24th over, after he had reached his fifty, Kohli copped one on the finger as he looked to pull Russell.
While the pitch presented those problems, it also provided good value for good shots. And Kohli never got bogged down. It showed from the time he flicked the eighth delivery he faced - a full one - for four through midwicket. The shot that stood out was off the rare full delivery from Roach. Kohli, though, hadn't gone back instinctively, and punched it between Roach and mid-on. He ran fast between the wickets, and brought up his fifty with another exquisite drive, a wristy one past extra cover, off Anthony Martin. Just before that, though, he had another taste of good fortune when Adrian Barath missed an opportunity to turn him out, going for a direct-hit even when he was stranded halfway up the pitch and Russell was there waiting for the throw.
1 comment:
Wow we are waiting to watch next series. Great cricket is most favourite game.
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