India Win Series 4-1 Lead By West Indies

India survives Pollard's pyrotechnics

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Manoj Tiwary's maiden ODI century scored over Kieron Pollard's as India registered a 34-run win over the West Indies in the fifth and final ODI at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium here on Sunday. The victory gave India the series 4-1.

The 26-year-old Tiwary (104, 126b, 10x4, 1x6), playing his sixth ODI, and Virat Kohli (80, 85b, 5x4) helped India post 267 for six — after the team lost two wickets in the first over — following stand-in skipper Gautam Gambhir decision to bat.

In pursuit, the West Indies folded in the 45th over for 233, despite Pollard's ruthless six-hitting spree that saw him clearing the ropes 10 times.

Irfan Pathan's first-ball strike and a couple of contentious decisions saw the West Indian chase stalled on 78 for five in the 16th over, before Pollard (119) and Andre Russell (53) — who was dropped by Parthiv Patel on 35 — brought it back on track.

Crucial dismissal

The two added 89 in 79 balls for the sixth wicket and the West Indies needed 101 to win in 21.1 overs when Russell was run out at the striker's end by a Gambhir throw from short third man — a dismissal that strangulated the chase.

Skipper Darren Sammy did his side no favours by edging Ravindra Jadeja to point after having wasted 14 balls for three runs. Pollard, six of whose ten sixes came off Jadeja, was left to rally the tail around him.

He was fortuitous to get his first ODI century. The team was nine down and Pollard on 99 when Kohli dropped him at the long-on boundary, the resultant four giving the West Indian his hundred.

Pollard was finally the last man out when he went for his 11th six and was caught well by Rahane at long off.

Earlier, Tiwary featured in two stands that took the initiative away from the West Indies. He added 83 with Gambhir (31) for the third wicket and collaborated for 117 in 18.5 overs with Kohli for the fourth wicket.

The partnership ended when the centurion retired with cramps, a ball after reaching his landmark in the 38th over.

Like in Ahmedabad — when Ravi Rampaul pegged back the chase with a double blow in the second over — India started in a similarly wretched manner at Chepauk with two first-ball ducks.

Kemar Roach thundered in with the new ball and trapped comeback man Ajinkya Rahane (in for Virender Sehwag) on the second ball of the innings with one that kept a shade low. Parthiv Patel played on next ball to leave the home team two down in three balls.

Tiwary played out the hat-trick ball with a measure of safety and continued to eschew risks as Gambhir and he took things ahead. The Delhi left-hander was out leg-before to Martin in the 19th over, and soon after Tiwary brought up his fifty.

India's 150 came up in the 31st over before Tiwary and Kohli added 100 runs for the fourth wicket in 99 balls. The Bengal batsman eased an inside-out six off Sunil Narine, the most economical of the West Indies' bowlers, to reach his highest List A score (96) and a couple of overs later glanced the same bowler to the fine-leg fence to reach his first ODI, and List A, hundred in 125 balls.

Tiwary retired hurt the very next ball, ending his partnership with Kohli was replaced by Rohit Sharma.

Kohli and Rohit added 40 in 7.2 overs before the former got out on 80 failing to clear long-on against Martin in the 46th over.

Narine (10-1-41-1) bowled a maiden to Irfan Pathan in the 49th over and India's innings culminated at 267 for six.

India Vs West Indies 5th ODI at Chennai Live Score,Cricinfo

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.

Ind Vs WI 5th ODI at Chennai Cricinfo,Teamsquaed,Live Score

Chennai ODI Teams-info,Cricinfo

With the series under their belt, India would look to sign off on a winning note before heading off to the gruelling trip to Australia when they take on a spirited but inconsistent West Indies in the fifth and final one—dayer here on Sunday.

Stand—in skipper Virender Sehwag single—handedly plundered the West Indian bowling to not just become only the second batsman to notch up an ODI double hundred, but also give India a decisive 3—1 lead in the five—match series in Indore.

This win is also Sehwag’s first series triumph as captain. Sehwag is leading the side as regular captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni has been rested.

The young Indian side has done remarkably well in the series in the absence of senior players like Dhoni, Sachin Tendulkar and Yuvraj Singh.

Statistics show that Indian dominance over the Caribbean team has been on the rise during the last decade, and weather—permitting, it is expected to continue in tomorrow’s match.

Fortunately for cricket fans in Chennai, who have seen an abandonment of domestic matches due to inclement weather in the recent past, the sun has come out bright and it has not rained during the last week or more.

Top—order Indian batsmen like Rohit Sharma and Virat Kholi have been among the runs in the series. Sehwag, who was struggling till the last match, roared back into form with the epic double hundred in the previous game.

On the bowling front, off—spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has not performed to his potential in the series, but would be egged on to strike as he would be bowling before his local fans.

Irfan Pathan is likely to find a place in the eleven since the series is already in India’s pocket, and it would give a chance for the selectors to see the Baroda bowler in action after being recalled to the team for his haul of 21 wickets in Ranji trophy this season.

For the West Indians, it has been a tough tour of India, having lost the three—match Test series, but the Darren Sammy—led side would be happy with the way they had cornered India in Ahmedabad.

Caribbean top—order batsmen have not found their rhythm in unison but have scored at an average of above 25 runs in each match.

Among Darren Bravo, Denesh Ramadin, Andre Russel, Lendl Simmons and Marlon Samuels, who have tallied over 100 runs for four matches, only Ramdin came close to scoring a century before getting out four runs short of it.

Sammy expects a much—improved show by his players tomorrow focusing on winning the last match though the series has already been decided.

“We think we can still win matches. We will approach the game in the morrow like the way we do every game to keep motivated in not losing focus since the one—day series had already been decided,” he said.

Kemar Roach (7/228) and Rampaul (6/185) have been the most successful bowlers and it is possible that Sammy play might three spinners as the Chepauk turf is known for its slow turn.

The visitors would be desperate to avoid a loss before heading home, but the Indians are not expected to concede even an inch.

Teams (from):

India: Virender Sehwag (Capt.), Gautam Gambhir, Suresh Raina, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Parthiv Patel (wk), Manoj Tiwary, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Rahul Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, Irfan Pathan, Abhimanyu Mithun and Vinay Kumar.

West Indies: Darren Sammy (Capt.), Darren Bravo, Anthony Martin, Sunil Narine, Kieran Powell, Ravi Rampaul, Andre Russel, Lendl Simmons, Adrian Bharath, Danza Hyatt, Jason Mohammed, Kieron Pollard, Denesh Ramdin (wk), Kemar Roach and Marlon Samuels.

Match starts at 2.30 pm (IST).

Pakistan Lead Series 4-1 By Sri lanka

Pakistan 219 for 7 (Misbah 66, Umar 61*, J Mendis 3-36) beat Sri Lanka 218 for 9 (Sangakkara 78, Mathews 61, Tanvir 4-34) by three wickets

A four-wicket haul from Sohail Tanvir and a fluent stand between captain Misbah-ul-Haq and Umar Akmal were the stand-out features of Pakistan's convincing win - they took the series 4-1 - in the dead rubber played on a slow pitch. The pair didn't get bogged down at the fall of two wickets off successive deliveries and their positive approach kept their team on track, but the platform for a win was set up by a superior bowling attack that restricted Sri Lanka, whose batting let them down again, to a gettable total.

Plenty of talent and depth in their bowling reserves served Pakistan well again. In conditions that were aiding swing and movement initially, and not discounting the advantage of using new balls at each end, Pakistan's seamers stepped up, and were supported by their spinners later on. Tanvir didn't have the pace of the man he replaced, Aizaz Cheema, but made up with his prodigious swing - by Middle East standards - and wily, selective variations. He fooled opener Upul Tharanga with an away swinger after feeding him three deliveries on the trot that moved in through the air. He was more threatening when he pitched the ball short of a driving length, something he realised quickly after being driven down the ground by Dinesh Chandimal. He worked at him with a spate of away-going deliveries and held one back a little more, prompting an attempt at a steer from Chandimal that was snapped up by slip.

In the interim, Umar Gul forced a loose shot from Tillakaratne Dilshan, who was caught behind. Thirty two for 3 soon became 46 for 4 when Chamara Silva, replacing an injured Mahela Jayawardene, was sucked in by a length ball that he nicked straight to slip, giving Junaid Khan a wicket in his first over.

The only batsman unflustered by the travails around him was Kumar Sangakkara, once again charged with the responsibility of rebuilding his team's innings. Despite the early assistance for the seamers, he didn't hesitate lurching forward to execute his favourite drives past extra cover on one knee, and took Tanvir for three fours in an over. The spinners, Shahid Afridi and Saeed Ajmal, erred on occasion, and Sangakkara was quick to latch on. He found an able partner at No.6 in Angelo Mathews, who counterattacked by launching Gul for two straight sixes when that early support from the conditions had withered away, and ran superbly between wickets.

Smart stats For the third time, Pakistan won four matches in an ODI series of five matches against Sri Lanka. The previous such victory came in the ODI series in Sri Lanka in 1994. Misbah-ul-Haq scored his 18th half-century in ODIs. He has now scored 2418 runs at an average of 42.42. The 118-run stand between Kumar Sangakkara and Angelo Mathews is the third-highest fifth-wicket partnership for Sri Lanka against Pakistan. Sangakkara scored his 17th half-century in neutral ODIs. He has now scored 2715 runs at an average of 37.70. Sohail Tanvir's four-wicket haul is his third in ODIs to go with one five-wicket haul. It is his second-best bowling performance against Sri Lanka after the 5 for 48 in Karachi in 2008. The 84-run stand between Misbah and Umar Akmal is the third-highest fifth-wicket stand for Pakistan in neutral ODIs against Sri Lanka. Umar Akmal's half-century is his tenth in ODIs. It is also his fourth fifty-plus score against Sri Lanka.

Sangakkara and Mathews did an admirable job, rotating the strike and not getting bogged down in a stand of 118. The field was spread out but a significant proportion of their runs were singles earned by just tapping the ball around the in-field, often in front of cover and point, and sprinting across. The boundaries, however, had dried up and when Sangakkara tried to break the 14-over drought with a drive over extra cover against Mohammad Hafeez, he was caught. Not long after, Jeevan Mendis was stumped off Afridi and Mathews, who'd survived a couple of close shaves while walking across to Ajmal, was eventually bowled round his legs. Sri Lanka only managed two fours and a six in the second half of their innings, struggling to push on as the track got increasingly slow and Tanvir returned to nip out a couple more.

Pakistan began their pursuit cautiously, going through a 24-ball runless phase at one stage, but Mohammad Hafeez and Asad Shafiq, in particular, were beginning to get set before losing their wickets. The experienced hands of Younis Khan and Misbah, however, guided them in typical, workmanlike fashion. Misbah was given a life at backward point by Jeevan Mendis, but consolidated well amid periodic bursts of aggression. Younis pulled Fernando past square leg and drove Prasanna inside-out over extra cover. Misbah warmed up by launching a length ball over Mathews' head, blazed Perera through the covers and reverse-swept a couple of boundaries past short third man.

In a little over ten overs together, the pair added a half-century stand and strengthened Pakistan's position. That was undermined when Younis and Shoaib Malik were trapped in front by Mendis off consecutive deliveries in the 26th over. The hat-trick ball was an early indication of the Pakistani response - Umar stepped out to a flighted delivery and drove it confidently to mid-off, seemingly unaffected by the pressure created by those two wickets. The final ball of the over was a long hop that was promptly dispatched, and the tone of his innings changed little after that.

Umar often left his crease to get to the pitch of the ball and comfortably kept the runs flowing. Misbah, on the other hand, opted to play from the crease, sweeping, reverse-sweeping, shuffling from one side to the other restlessly but effectively and keeping the required-rate under control throughout. The boundaries came from the other end: Umar muscled Thisara Perera through the covers, guided Malinga past third man, swatted Dilhara Fernando through midwicket and creamed Seekkuge Prasanna past mid-off. There was a slight hiccup when Misbah and Afridi fell in quick succession, but Pakistan were secure with Umar at the other end; the pressure was off with a couple of crunched boundaries off Malinga and Fernando, and the win followed shortly after.