West Indies tri-series 2013: India vs WI - Hits and Misses

Johnson Charles

Johnson Charles

Johnson Charles is a man so unpredictable, that you could trust the British skies to rain on schedule, but you cannot judge how Charles is going to play out his game. Having played a forgettable innings against Sri Lanka on Friday, Charles started off against India by thrashing 3 consecutive boundaries off the second over of the innings being bowled by a hapless Bhuvaneshwar Kumar.

There was a lot more to come. So much so that his first 24 runs came off some beautiful hits off the bat. The bowling clan of Ashwin, Yadav, Jadeja alike looked clueless. And Dinesh Karthik, who replaced an injured Dhoni missed a crucial stumping, that went on to add 4 more runs in the 37th over. Charles marched to a gallant 97 and just when the vuvuzelas reached a deafening din, cheering him on, he lost the plot. He shifted his stance and threw the ball straight into Ishant’s hands. What was done was done. But his innings didn’t go in vain.

Honourable Mention: Umesh Yadav - 3 wickets and not too many runs. Yadav played his part well, only to give away the winning runs.

The Misses

Indian batting – fatigued?

Dhawan and Kohli departed for 11

Perhaps the very first over was a sign of what was to come. The Indian batsmen struggled and how. No moustaches were twirled yesterday when Shikhar Dhawan, from whom much is expected on the back of his performance in the Champions Trophy, gave away his wicket to an ecstatic Roach.

He was followed soon by Virat Kohli, who has been looking more and more uncomfortable on pitches abroad. He must find his form soon. Both the batsmen departed after making 11. The lack of any stable partnership saw India struggle to put up a respectable stand. Dinesh Karthik was too slow for comfort and walked back having contributed just 23 runs off 56 deliveries.

Ravindra Jadeja - Yes sir, no sir?

Jadeja didn’t impress with either bat or ball

Disappointed with the bat – could contribute mere 15 runs when India most needed him at the end of the innings.

He also disappointed with the ball, conceding 50 runs and returning without any wickets, when he was pitched to make the most of the slow conditions. There are good days and bad days. This was a bad one for Sir.

Sunil Narine - Surprise, surprise!

Sunil Narine wasn’t impressive against India

The man who played so well in the first match against Sri Lanka failed to take any wickets and conceded too many runs. Also a failure was Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who just couldn’t get the same purchase with the ball as Yadav.

The West Indian batsmen deserve a special mention in the failures. While they had Charles at one end who made a cool 97, they had batsmen who threw away their wickets at crucial moments. Ramdin, Pollard, Gayle and Samuels failed to make any significant contribution. Bravo and Sammy found their rhythm only to get out at the most inopportune moments, silencing the vuvuzelas in the stadium. Roach and Best however, showed them how it’s done.