Windies v India, 4th ODI – 5 Game Changing Moments

Having gained an unassailable lead in the series, India went into the fourth ODI against Windies with the intention of winning the series at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua. It seemed like another one-sided match in the making but the hosts made a match out of it and fought till the very end. They pulled off a stunning victory to keep the series alive.

After winning the toss, Windies’ openers showed a lot of grit against the Indian pacers. After adding 57 runs for the first wicket, the visitors breached the opposition batting line-up and picked up wickets at regular intervals. Windies could muster 189 for the loss of 9 wickets at the end of 50 overs.

In reply, India suffered a poor start after they lost 3 quick wickets. The in-form Rahane added 54 runs for the 4th wicket with Dhoni. But after his dismissal, the bowlers applied the pressure and didn’t allow the big shots to be hit. Dhoni held one end but was too slow in his approach. Losing partners at the other end didn’t help and he failed to win it for the team.

Windies bowlers did a tremendous job and emerged victorious by 11 runs in a tightly contested game. The skipper Jason Holder led from the front as he ended with figures of 27/5. The series score line now stands at 2-1 in the favor of India with a game t ogo.

Here are the game changing moments from the game:

#1 Pandya getting Kyle Hope out

The Windies openers did all the hard work of seeing off the new ball against 2 quality seamers and when the time arrived to up the ante, Kyle Hope fell to the third seamer in the side – Hardik Pandya. All the good work was undone by a poor shot from Kyle Hope in the 18th over.

The right-hander had got a boundary off the previous delivery and attempted to go for another one. While trying to go over extra cover, he ended up slicing the shot to Kedar Jadhav at deep cover. The opening partnership ended after adding 57 runs as Kyle departed for 35. That was the wicket that triggered a collapse and they lost wickets in heaps that gave India the control in the first innings.

#2 Windies pacers’ initial burst

Everyone thought that the target of 190 would be a walk in the park for the Indian batsmen but the Windies fast bowlers weren’t prepared to give up just yet. Alzarri Joseph accounted for the wicket of Shikhar Dhawan in the 3rd over for 5. Jason Holder then bagged the prized scalp of Virat Kohli for 3 that left India reeling at 25/2 in the 6th over.

To make the matters worse, Dinesh Karthik who was playing his first game of the series was dismissed by Joseph to put them deeper into trouble at 47/3 in the 13th over. Both the pacers came out with an intent to bowl short and they did get the results from that. Due to their excellent run, both got extended spells of 7 overs each. That was the time when India were put on the back foot.

#3 Mohammed giving a life to Rahane

Alzarri Joseph was in between a terrific opening spell and had already accounted for the wickets of Dhawan and Kohli. He could have had another if only he had found the support from the fielders. In the 7th over, Ajinkya Rahane flicked one towards square leg that went straight towards Jason Mohammed positioned there.

But he couldn’t hang on to an easy one and the batsman was allowed to live another day. Rahane is the in-form batsman in the series and his wicket at that stage would have been a body blow for India. But a lackluster fielding effort hurt Windies as the Indian opener went on to score 60 and put together a solid partnership with MS Dhoni.

#4 Chase’s 44th over

India needed 53 runs from last 7 overs and the pressure was mounting on MS Dhoni and Hardik Pandya at the crease. The fast bowlers had done a wonderful job to keep the batsmen away from scoring boundaries. But Jason Holder made a surprise move of introducing Roston Chase for the first time in the innings and that too and at the crucial juncture of the match.

First, Dhoni collected a boundary off a delivery down the leg side and then Pandya smacked a six to make it worse. The off-spinner ended up conceding 16 runs off the over that lifted the pressure off the batsmen and eased the equation from where India could have easily got to the target.

#5 Dhoni’s uncharacteristic approach

The wicket-keeper batsman intended on steadying the ship initially with Rahane. He held one end and didn’t look to score a lot which is what was needed at that stage. But even when the required run rate went past 6, he kept turning the strike over that mounted the pressure.

He scored the slowest half-century of his career when he got there off 108 balls. He kept losing partners at the other end and he seemed adamant to take the game till the end. But it didn’t turn out to be the Dhoni special finish as he got out in the penultimate over off Kesrick Williams for 54 off 114 balls.

When 14 runs were required off 7 balls, he tried to clear the long-on fence but only managed to find the fielder at the fence. Dhoni’s knock consisted just the solitary boundary which is not what we are used to seeing of him. His intent to finish with a flourish didn’t work this time around.