India win a high-scoring thriller, go 1-0 up

India has made a winning start to the four match ODI series in West Indies by beating the hosts in the first game at Jamaica. The West Indies made a good fist of the game after getting thrashed around, but fell 20 runs short of the target.

Captain M.S.Dhoni won the toss and decided to bat first, but India was at the receiving end of some really short bowling by the West Indian attack. Both, Gautam Gambhir and Rohit Sharma, were dismissed while trying to pull short balls, and India was 32/2 in the eighth over and the ghosts of the 2007 World T20 seemed to be back to haunt them. > The rescue act was performed by the duo of Dinesh Karthik and Yuvraj Singh who not only stemmed the flow of wickets, but also began to attack the bowlers more frequently. Karthik was making a comeback to the team as a batsman, and he did not disappoint the selectors or his captain by smashing his way to a 67 off only 77 deliveries, adding 135 runs for the third wicket in the process.

However, it was after his dismissal, that Yuvraj opened up with his array of shots. The pull was the most effective and it brought him many of his sixes off the slower bowlers every time they pitched even a marginally shot. M.S.Dhoni, at the other end, struggled a trifle with his timing, but did hit a six as India completed their 250 in the 38th over. > Yuvraj and Ravindra Jadeja did fall to Dwayne Bravo off successive balls, but by then the damage had been done and in the company of Yusuf Pathan and Harbhajan Singh, Dhoni propelled the score to 339/6 in their fifty overs. This was the second highest total at this ground, after Pakistan had scored 349 in the 2007 world cup here.

West Indies started well with Chris Gayle and Runako Morton and added 65 for the first wicket in less than ten overs. The captain left to a half-pull shot off the comeback man Ashish Nehra, but Morton soldiered on with Ramanaresh Sarwan and the duo brought up the 100 in the 16th over. The dismissal of Morton, rather dubiously given caught behind by the umpire, did not change the scoring rate as Sarwan was involved in another fifty run stand with Shiv. Chanderpaul.

Just when the pair was looking dangerous, Sarwan run-out, going for a suicidal second run, and Bravo struggled against the guile of Harbhajan Singh and the other spinners. Yet, it was Bravo’s wicket – rather unfortunately given out despite replays clearing showing that it was a no-ball – that brought the necessary impetus to the inning, with Chanderpaul and Darren Bravo – Dwayne’s brother – adding 36 runs in less than four overs.

West Indies then did lose wickets in a hurry, including that of the well-set Chanderpaul, but Dinesh Ramdin and David Bernard got together and brought the West Indies down to 46 runs needed from 31 balls. The win was a possibility from this stage, the remaining wickets were a problem.

In the end, despite a six by Ramdin, the ask was too much for the inexperienced lower order, and they capitulated to 319 all out. Ramdin scored 29 in 26 deliveries before being the last man dismissed. Nehra and Pathan, both grabbed three wickets each.

Yuvraj Singh was declared the man-of-the-match for his brilliant century. India now goes 1-0 up in the series, and there are three more games to be played, the second on which will be played on the same ground.