West Indies pip India by 3 wickets

New Delhi: The Champions Trophy saw another match going down to the wire when West Indies edged India to the finish with three wickets and two balls to spare in Ahmedabad on Thursday.

A stutter right at the end of the Windies innings meant India were right back in the game in the last over, but Marlon Samuels hit the winning boundary taking his side to one step on the right side of the semi-finals.

Half-centuries by opener Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Ramnaresh Sarwan guided West Indies to safety after Chris Gayle had laid the foundation for the steady run chase. Indian bowlers looked to have lost their rhythm that won them the game against England.

Beginning the chase, West Indies opened with Chris Gayle and the Shivnarine Chanderpaul. After putting up a target that is not too stiff it was expected that the Indian fielders would back their bowlers.

In the fifth over of the West Indies innings Suresh Raina dropped the dangerous Gayle off Irfan Pathan who celebrated the life by hitting the bowler for two fours after the drop. He had also scored a four on the first ball of the same over before being dropped.

And a few overs later when Ajit Agarkar was bowling, RP Singh at long-leg failed to collect the ball which went through his legs for a four. And again the batsman was Gayle.

Gayle continued to torment India and was keen to hit the ball as hard as he could. But he tried to do too much too soon and paid the penalty when RP made amends for his poor fielding to take a skier coolly off Munaf Patel’s ball to send the Caribbean batsman back into the pavilion.

The West Indies opener scored 34 off 37 balls with the help of seven fours.

Dwayne Bravo could safely be termed as India’s nemesis, if not an all-rounder possessing prodigious talent. Promoted up the order at number three, Bravo showed every bit of his batting abilities to the Indian pacers, striking copybook shots with guile at one end, while Chanderpaul came into his own, down at the other.

Coming on as the Windies’ version of India’s Irfan Pathan, Bravo however didn’t repeat the latter’s score in the middle. But he made a hash of his stay, as being extra-cautious only played into the hands of Harbhajan Singh, who bent one through his defence, trapping him leg before.

Eight luscious boundaries guided Chanderpaul to a 50, his confidence growing with every shot that he played, and his intentions made crystal clear by sheer concentration.

Virender Sehwag, who came on to bowl, slipping into the second spinners’ shoes, struck with a viscous turner neatly held by skipper Dravid at slip, shortly after Chanderpaul reached his half-ton.

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