West Indies know how difficult it is to recover after losing three wickets in the first over. India’s experience was not very different at Sabina Park, Jamaica during the second ODI.
dhoni lone man
Even as health officials worried about the swine flu spreading to Jamaica, India had more imminent problems, with the bat. West Indies suffered in the semi final of the ICC World Twenty20 when Sri Lankan fast bowler Angelo Matthews picked up three wickets in the first over. While India did not lose three wickets in the first over, in an ODI losing them within the first three overs of the match is as good as sending the team back to the pavilion.
India suffered early with Dinesh Karthik, opening the innings in the absence of Virender Sehwag, was straightened out by Jerome Taylor on the fifth ball of the first over. But more despair was to follow as Gautam Gambhir brandished his bat flamboyantly with an edge and Rohit Sharma followed suit to a catch that bounced from the wicket keeper Denesh Ramdin’s gloves to Runako Morton, giving a jubilant Ravi Rampaul two wickets in one over. Reduced for seven for three, India had to look once again at the experienced duo of man of the match in the first ODI, Yuvraj Singh, and Indian captain, Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
But Yuvraj’s wicket to Jerome Taylor for thirty-five signaled another downslide in which India found themselves at eight down for eighty-two and the skipper looking on flabbergasted at the proceedings. Dhoni had earlier warned his team of complacency. But it was hard to explain this performance on that word alone.
But thereafter started the partnership that would give the India decency it so desperately was in need of. With Dhoni came a man to the crease who decided to firmly stand by his captain, runs rains existent or not. R.P. Singh, ignored for the first three matches of the ICC World Twenty20 matches that India played, came in to bat and clocked in a performance that would have made his team proud had this been a Test match. But on the day and given the situation, team India would have taken this.
The R.P. Singh Dhoni partnership of 101 runs beat the one between Yuvraj and Dhoni for forty-seven runs. The seventy-five balls that R.P. spent at the crease yielded only twenty-three runs. But the time was invaluable in that it allowed the Indian captain to eke out the runs after he found the team in dire straits. Ninety-five was what India had settle in the end for Dhoni but his was the final wicket to fall and that was in the forty-ninth over which meant that he had batted for the better part of forty-five overs.
188 may not be a big total, but it certainly gave India some respectability and life when it appeared snuffed out in the twenty-second over with eight wickets down, Rampaul enjoying the run with four wickets for thirty-seven off his ten overs while Dwayne Bravo was catching up with three wickets of his own to complement Taylor’s three.
There Goes Fatigue Theory Out of the Window!
Ind WI ODI Full Time: India Win by A Whisker
Ind-WI ODI 1 Half Time: India Hold The Aces After Yuvi Blitz, Karthik's Steadiness
Ind- WI ODI 1 Preview: India Undertake Tour of Revenge
India May already Have Excuses Over Visa Concerns
Swine Flu Keeps Cricketers Indoors
Dhoni: Team Should Disclose Discomfort, Injury and Fatigue
Is it the end of Dhoni’s reign?
Sachin Tendulkar to Fans: Learn To Accept Defeat Gracefully
ICC World Twenty20 Fallout: Kirsten 'Gagged' Again
Related Stories
Ind Aus ODI 2 Half Time: Dhoni Mania Hits Nagpur
For too long, Mahendra Singh Dhoni's bat appeared to be silent. But for more another memorable impact, Dhoni deserves the credit as he set ablaze the Nagpur crowd with a blistering century in a drama filled innings in the second ODI between...
Ind WI ODI 2 Full Time: WI Keep the Faith
Sir Geoffrey Boycott launched into a scathing criticism of the Indian team, their batting and the fact that their bowling was not going to be enough to stop the West Indies from getting the modest target. But with better insight, it...
Ind-WI ODI 1 Half Time: India Hold The Aces After Yuvi Blitz, Karthik's Steadiness
The recipe was virtually set for disaster. With Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar missing, the beleaguered Indian team, who flopped at the ICC World Twenty20 in England, were faced with playing out an ODI with a third of their team...
Ind Eng ODI 3 Half Time: Dhoni, Jadeja Revive Innings, Set England 235 To Chase
The third India England ODI at the Kennington Oval in London seemed to be heading down the drain once more for the Indian cricket team until the Indian captain and Ravindra Jadeja put up a remarkable rearguard action to bring the match back into contentio
Virat Kohli And Co. Enjoy Bike Ride before Formula One Racing ( See Pics)
Is it not known that the Indian cricketers can also love demons of speed? Even as some of the Indian cricket team will fly to Noida for the first Formula One Indian Grand Prix, they did enjoy bike rides, although not on the circuit, with the keys firmly w
