Photo: AFP
India became the first team from Group B to qualify for the quarterfinals of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 as they West Indies by 4 wickets. It was a hard fought win for the Men in Blue as the Caribbeans gave India a run for their money while chasing a small target.
West Indies bowlers certainly got the bite back in their bowling on a lively Perth pitch that had a lot for the seamers right from the very beginning. They gave the Indian batting line up a hard time in the middle with some disciplined bowling mixed up with some fiery short pitched bowling. In the end the target of 183 runs proved a bit too little as Mahendra Singh Dhoni for yet another time rescued India from a tense situation. The top order which did fire in the previous matches failed to deliver while coming on to chase 183. Shikhar Dhawan (7) and Rohit Sharma (9) could not provide the kind of start that India would have wanted as they got out cheaply. Virat Kohli (33) and Ajinkya Rahane did provide the kind of stability that was needed while chasing but Kohli’s dismissal gave Windies the opportunity to get back into the match. Few quick wickets, that of Rahane, Raina (22) and Jadeja (13) fell and it left India in a spot of bother needing 49 runs to win with 4 wickets in hand. Ravichandran Ashwin (16*) gave Dhoni (46*) the perfect support as they built up the unbeaten partnership of 51 runs that saw India through in the end. Jerome Taylor turned out to be the best bowlers for West Indies as he picked up the first two wickets and pushed India on to the back-foot.
Photo: livecricketscore.io
Earlier in the day West Indies put up some hilarious show with the bat on a Perth pitch that required some responsible batting. No one did that and the neat result was getting all out before playing 50 overs. Jason Holder (56) showed that a bit of patience and application might have paid dividends. But that was not to be. But that does not take anything away from the Indian bowlers who bowled their heart out. All the Indian bowlers, especially Mohammad Shami (8-2-35-3) after coming back into the side put up a man-of-the-match winnings performance that left the Windies batsmen with nothing to answer. He picked the crucial wickets of Dwayne Smith, the dangerous Chris Gayle and Darren Sammy. Umesh Yadav also bowled well for 2 wickets. Ashwin and Mohit Sharma got 1 wicket each while Ravindra Jadeja returned with impressive figures of 8.2-0-27-2.
Overall it was a day on which the bowlers enjoyed their supremacy over the batsmen. And today’s game clearly answers those people who have been saying that the rules should be changed as the game is getting easier for the batsmen with every passing day. It was a real cracker of match except those last few overs when Dhoni had made sure that India made it four out of four.
Tags: ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 india
