50 overs India 267 for 5 (Tiwary 104 retd, Kohli 80) v West Indies 40/4 11 Overs
India were missing their four biggest ODI batting stars but that didn't prevent their next generation from piling on 267 for 5 on a slow-and-low track in the final one-dayer against West Indies in Chennai. Manoj Tiwary stated his case for a permanent place in an increasingly crowded middle-order with his maiden one-day century and Virat Kohli eased to the top of ODI run-chart for 2011 with a business-as-usual 80.
It was Tiwary's first opportunity of the series, and he came in with a charged-up Kemar Roach on a hat-trick, two balls into the match. Not only did he prevent a hat-trick, but played an innings that was the bedrock of a score that should prove difficult to chase for West Indies. India should have reached closer to 300 but once Tiwary retired hurt with cramps on a humid Chennai afternoon, West Indies' spinners pulled it back a touch.
It was an important innings for a player who was only getting his sixth game in nearly four years, spread across four different series. He had never made a hundred even in domestic one-dayers, and his previous highest score in internationals was 24.
Unlike Tiwary, Ajinkya Rahane, another man getting his first game in the series, flubbed his lines as the match got off to a cracking start. He picked up a golden duck as Roach got a short of length delivery to stay low. Another player who squandered his opportunity was Parthiv Patel, who now ends the series without a substantial score despite getting four chances in the top order. Parthiv also collected a golden duck, edging Roach onto the stumps to leave India at 0 for 2.
Tiwary walked in and was greeted with a sharp bouncer. He kept it out uncomfortably, but grew more assured as the innings progressed. He got going with a pleasing push past mid-off for four, a stroke he repeated with precise placement off Sunil Narine in the eighth over. With Ravi Rampaul out injured, the West Indian attack lacked bite, and Tiwary had a mostly untroubled time. A flick from outside off past midwicket for four off Darren Sammy in the 15th over showed his confidence.
At the other end, Gambhir did his bit with a mix of sharp singles and panicky running. He picked up 20 singles in his 28, adding 83 with Tiwary before being trapped lbw by legspinner Anthony Martin.
That didn't prove a setback for India though, as Virat Kohli gave another example of his increasing ease at the international level. He worked risk-free singles off seven of his first eight deliveries, and opened out once he got used to the pace and bounce of the track. Kohli and Tiwary put on 43 runs in a five-over spell starting from the 27th - it wasn't even the Powerplay and was supposed to be part of the 'boring' middle overs with the field spread out.
By this stage, Tiwary was struggling with cramps. All his boundaries since the opening Powerplay had been on the leg side, but on reaching 90, he drilled Narine inside-out over long-off for a six. A couple of overs later , he glanced a wayward delivery to fine leg for four to bring up a cherished hundred.
He retired soon after but Kohli marched on towards his fifth ODI century of the year. He had to be content with 80 though, as he spooned a catch to long-off, causing a slowdown in the scoring. Only three boundaries were hit in the final ten overs, as Narine proved hard to read, and Martin and Marlon Samuels didn't offer any freebies.
The final stages of the Indian innings showed how difficult a surface it was to score on, but if West Indies are looking for something to cheer them, it's the Indian bowling line-up: Irfan Pathan returning after three years, Abhimanyu Mithun has never convinced in one-dayers, Rahul Sharma is playing only his second game, and the fifth bowlers' slot has to be filled by part-timers.
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