CWC 2019: WI vs IND Review – Unbeaten India knock West Indies out
The Indian team maintained their winning run in the World Cup 2019 as they defeated West Indies by 125 runs at Old Trafford, Manchester. Riding on a spectacular bowling performance, India have now registered their fifth win in this tournament and are just a win away from sealing a spot in the semi-finals. The heavy loss finally erases the slim chances of West Indies and they cannot end in the top four teams now. West Indies becomes the third team after Afghanistan and South Africa to be knocked out.
Check out the full scorecard here
Indian bowling destroys West Indian hopes
The chase of 269 started on a wrong note for the desperate side. They needed their best batsmen, Shai Hope and Chris Gayle, to rise to the occasion and seize the initiative. However, it was the Indian pace pair that dominated the proceedings. Mohammed Shami sent back both the batsmen to push the Caribbean side on the back foot. Gayle was caught pulling while Hope dragged one back on his stumps. At 16/2 in 6.5 overs, the scene was gloomy for the chasing side.
Last-minute replacement opener Sunil Ambris and Nicholas Pooran put their heads together and salvaged the situation. It was Hardik Pandya who deceived Ambris with an off-cutter and sent him back for 31. The dismissal sparked a collapse as West Indies gifted one wicket after another. Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal gobbled one wicket each. Jasprit Bumrah returned to take two in two balls. Spinners wrapped up the tail and secured a thumping win by 125 runs. Mohammed Shami registered the match-winning bowling figures of 4/16. Earlier in the day, India struggled to reach the score of 268 in the first innings.
West Indian pacers dominate the turf with DRS
After asked to bowl first on the used track of Manchester, West Indian pacers delivered a stirring performance. Sensing the lack of lateral movement, the bowlers pulled their lengths back. Indian batsmen failed to cope up with the ball pitching short of the good length area. Kemar Roach was the pick of the bowlers. He dismissed Rohit Sharma early in a controversial manner. Later, Jason Holder accounted for KL Rahul to keep India in a consolidating position.
Kohli stands alone in the middle muddle
As he often does, Virat Kohli was batting as if he was playing on a different pitch to everyone. Scoring his fourth consecutive half-century of the World Cup, Kohli was set for a ton before he handed an easy catch on a personal score of 72. Apart from the skipper, the rest of the middle order struggled to keep the momentum. MS Dhoni waged the lone battle in his typical manner. With the flourish in late overs, he finished with 56 not out and helped India get to 268/7. Sheldon Cottrell dismissed dangerous-looking Hardik Pandya and ended with 2/50.
