Birthday Special: Ravi Rampaul – Top 3 performances in international cricket
West Indies have been blessed with numerous world-class fast bowlers throughout the years, and Ravi Rampaul, while not the quickest, was certainly a treat to watch on his day. The Trinidadian had the innate ability to swing the ball both ways, troubling the batters with his prowess with the new ball. Unfortunately, like many of his fellow countrymen, the fast-bowling ace is plagued by injuries throughout his career, restricting his involvement on the international stage. On the eve of his 38th birthday, we list some of his most notable performances for the Windies.
4/48 against Pakistan, 2011
West Indies welcomed Pakistan for the first Test match of the series in Guyana in 2011. The hosts won the toss and elected to bat first on a lively surface at the Providence Stadium. Although several Windies top order batters got a start in the first innings, Saeed Ajmal’s five-wicket haul kept them to a lowly 226. The visitors, in reply, did not do much better either, surrendering for a meagre 160 runs. Ravi Rampaul scalped three wickets to keep West Indies in the match. The hosts were restricted to 152 runs, setting a target of 219 for Pakistan. Rampaul got rid of three of their top four batters to wreck their chase, finishing with 4/48 as the Windies ran victors by 40 runs.
4/29 against Bangladesh, 2014
Bangladesh traveled to St Kitts for their third ODI against hosts West Indies. The home side, led by Dwayne Bravo, elected to bat first after winning the toss. Their innings was off to an atrocious start after losing both openers Chris Gayle and Lendl Simmons cheaply inside the powerplay. But Darren Bravo and Denesh Ramdin consolidated with a mammoth 258-run stand for the third wicket. Their partnership pushed West Indies’ score to a commanding 338 after 50 overs. Bangladesh’s slip hopes of chasing down the record total was extinguished by Ravi Rampaul, who finished with menacing figures of 4/29 in his ten overs to hand West Indies a 91-run victory.
3/16 against Australia, 2012
R Premadasa Stadium hosted West Indies and Australia for the second semi-final of the 2012 T20 World Cup. Darren Sammy opted to bat first after winning the toss in the knockout game. The Windies lost Johnson Charles early in the match, but Chris Gayles’ solid 75 off 41 deliveries followed by Kieron Pollard’s breathtaking 38 off 15, pushed their total to a daunting 205 at the end of their 20 overs. Australia never got going in their chase thanks to Ravi Rmpaul’s 3/16 in 3.4 overs, restricting Australia to mere 131 runs.
