Jason Holder top-scored for West Indies with 57
Mohammed Shami took 3 for 35
The urge to dominate got the better of the West Indies batting order, who collapsed to 182 all out after electing to bat against India on a WACA wicket that was devoid of any grass, severely denting their chances of making the knockout stages of the 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup. India’s bowlers were on the mark right from the first ball of the innings, reducing their opposition to 85 for 7 in the 25th over before captain Jason Holder’s 57 and a couple of dropped catches allowed them to stretch their innings into the 45th over.
The West Indies batsmen had a collective brain-fade as poor shot selection continued throughout the course of their innings, and went south immediately after Chris Gayle was out for 21. Mohammed Shami, returning to the side after missing the UAE game in place of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, bowled a splendid opening spell (6-2-19-2) that set the tone for the rest of the bowlers, even though they should have wrapped up the innings earlier had it not been for some slippery fingers on the field.
Early inroads had meant West Indies were reduced to 39 for 4 inside the first 10 overs, which became 71 for 5 after 20 as they slumped to poor shot selection against an Indian bowling attack that has relished bowling with the white ball in this competition.
It was clear from Holder’s decision to bat first that West Indies wanted to stamp their authority in the match, but his batsmen failed to back his decision after Shami and Yadav bowled an opening spell full of zest and accuracy, driven by countless fans making the trip to the WACA on a hot summer’s day, also the occasion of Holi.
Movement in the air was an added benefit, but Shami and Yadav began with a plan. Overs three, four and five were maidens that mounted pressure and Dwayne Smith offered a simple chance to MS Dhoni off Shami after scoring six. In the best of times, it is never a good idea to run quick singles with either Chris Gayle or Marlon Samuels at the other end, but when the two came together, something had to give.
Both Umesh and Shami had dropped tough chances off each other’s bowling when Gayle attempted to break the shackles, but the next mistimed shot saw Samuels charging down to Gayle’s end, only for the batsman to watch the ball drop short of Mohit, who picked it up and threw it back at Samuels’ end.
When it was pitched up, Gayle went after it but the stifling of runs with a back-of-a-length plan prodded him into top-edging a pull in the ninth over. Save for his record-setting 215 against Zimbabwe, Gayle has had a quiet World Cup, failing to dominate any of the bowling attacks he has come up against.
Denesh Ramdin was bowled first ball which broke the back of the West Indies innings before the 10th over was completed, and the subsequent dismissals of Lendl Simmons, Jonathan Carter and Andre Russell turned a hugely anticipated match into a no-contest. Holder, first in a sedate 39-run partnership with Darren Sammy [26, 55b, 2×4] and then a 51-run stand with Jerome Taylor, propped the team up to 182 and had used up 44.2 overs before they were bowled out, when batting out 30 overs looked improbable at one stage.
Brief scores: West Indies 182 in 44.2 overs (Jason Holder 57; Shami 3/35, Jadeja 2/27) v India.
