A truly champions’ display by India
India captain Suresh Raina was a relieved man after his team was made to struggle for the first time in the series by the West Indies, eventually triumphing by three wickets in the third One-Day International (ODI).
Raina admitted that his batsmen had nearly gifted the match to the hosts, at one stage being reduced to 92 for six, but recovered thanks to Rohit Sharma’s resolute 86, that saw them through to a series-clinching victory after a seventh-wicket partnership of 88 with Harbhajan Singh.
“Our shot selection was wrong – I too, played a bad shot – but credit must go to Rohit and Harbhajan because they had a good partnership that set things up,” said Raina. “Rohit has been especially consistent over the last two years. He is batting really well at the moment, and I hope he does well for us in the next two games as well.”
‘We lacked the killer instinct’
A disappointed West Indies captain Darren Sammy rued yet another loss but was all praise for all-rounder Andre Russel, who made an unbeaten 64-ball 92 coming in at number nine, rescuing the hosts from a precarious 96 for seven and eventually seeing them through to a competitive 225.
“This is another one that got away from us,” said Sammy. “The way Russell showed character out there, and gave us the momentum in the game, and put a fighting total on the board.
“During the interval, we were quite confident, and we took that momentum, and we got early wickets, but we did not find the killer instinct to wrap it up.”
India found themselves in serious trouble when four wickets fell for 32 between the 16th and 23rd overs. But Sharma and Harbhajan, who made 41 in 64 deliveries, showed incredible restraint. Harbhajan’s patience ran out in the 41st over, when he skied a delivery from Russell, and was caught behind.
India required 46 from the last 54 balls, and through a combination of some big hitting from Praveen Kumar in 25 not out, and wayward West Indies bowling, they coasted the rest of the way.
Earlier, Russell smashed eight fours and five sixes in a dazzling display, and helping the home team reach a respectable total.
His efforts with the bat, which helped earn him the man-of-the-match award, came after leg-spinner Amit Mishra followed-up on his career-best bowling in the second ODI with three for 28 and Munaf Patel supported with three for 60.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 13th, 2011.
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