ICC World Cup: India reach 268 against West Indies after a late flourish
ICC World Cup: India reach 268 against West Indies after a late flourish

ICC World Cup: India reach 268 against West Indies after a late flourish

India's middle-order woes, which had become a talking point ahead of the game, came to the fore yet again. 

India finished on 268 for 7 against the West Indies in their allotted 50 overs thanks to a late flourish from MS Dhoni, in their World Cup group match at the Old Trafford cricket ground in Manchester on Thursday. 

After winning the toss and electing to bat first, Indian captain Virat Kohli top scored with 72, his fourth consecutive half-century in this year's tournament. However, a century continued to elude Kohli after he was caught at mid-wicket off the bowling of his counterpart Jason Holder.  KL Rahul (48) and Hardik Pandya (46) contributed with the bat in a stop-start innings that lacked fluency.  

Kemar Roach starred with the ball picking up 3 scalps including the prized wicket of opener Rohit Sharma in controversial fashion. Rohit was adjudged not out as the ball slipped in between the bat and pad but third umpire Michael Gough ruled that there was enough evidence to overturn the decision despite replays that were not very clear. 

India struggled to forge partnerships and its lack of a genuine fourth batsman, which had become a talking point in the run-up to the game, came to the fore again. Kedar Jadhav and Vijay Shankar fell cheaply even as Kohli continued to hold the innings together with an assured fifty. But just when Kohli looked set for a big innings, he mistimed a pull straight to mid-wicket. 

Dhoni and Pandya put together a timely 50-run stand to propel the Indian innings past 250. Dhoni was slow off the blocks but accelerated towards the end to finish on 56 off 61 balls. He took 16 runs off the last over bowled by Oshane Thomas. 

West Indies need to win to stay alive in the World Cup and will be wary of their experience chasing in the game against New Zealand played at the same ground. In that match, Carlos Brathwaite's heroic hundred went in vain after he was caught on the boundary with the team needing 6 runs to win. 

Related Stories

No stories found.
The News Minute
www.thenewsminute.com