A tail to remember

But with India just a few strokes away from registering their fifth ODI win over the West Indies in the calendar year,Indias top scorer was bowled by leggie Antony Martin. And all he could do was watch. It goes without saying,the No.10 and No.11 didnt make it a pleasant one.

After Aaron believed himself to be a top-order batsman,only one run was scored over the following six balls before Yadav managed to puncture the leg-side field once again to fine leg,this time off wicket-taker Martin. Unfortunately,though,Aaron was placed behind the umpire when Yadav began the run. So with close to 30 yards to make up,Aaron just about ran the single,before deciding to amble back for a non-existent second.

All hope lost

Just when all hope seemed lost with nine runs required off the last 12 balls,the scoreboard will say that Aaron hit the second ball of the penultimate over past the sweeper fence. But with Aaron and Yadav,nothing comes without drama,and in reality the boy from Jharkhand had ballooned the widish Sammy delivery inches past the gully fielder,as the leather stayed up long enough in the air several shouts of catch.

From not running at all,Aaron had suddenly started believing that anything off the face of the bat was worth two,as he demonstrated with a kamikaze attempt off the next ball. Yadav,though,didnt fail to make hearts stop soon after getting on strike,as he shouldered arms to a full-length Sammy ball marginally outside off-stump.

Although the Dravidian straight drive that Yadav executed off the next ball finished the match in glorious style,it will not be the talking point of the match. Nor will the 1-wicket win or Rohits flamboyance under pressure. For a long time to come,well after this series is over,the Cuttack ODI will be remembered solely for the divine comedy that was put on extended display by arguably Indias most suicidal batting pair.

Aaron and Yadav are much better bowlers than they are batsmen,as the fast bowling pair did exceedingly well to restrict the West Indies to 211/9 after skipper Virender Sehwag chose to bowl first on a batting pitch. Aaron pegged back the dangerous Marlon Samuels at the start of the innings for 10 and also came back to dismiss the late flurry by Andre Russell. Yadav,averaging 145 kmph,scalped opener Lendl Simmons and keeper Denesh Ramdin. Only Darren Bravo survived their viciousness,and he went on to hold the innings together with a top score of 60. But if Bravos has a new found love for the Indian bowling,then Rohits love for the West Indies equivalent is even greater.

The last time Rohit played two balls or more of international cricket he faced just one against England in between,he finished with a Man of the Series award against the West Indies in their backyard. Lost in the wilderness of the domestic version since,he returned with a bang as soon as Sammys men came visiting.

The Rohit Sharma show

With Kemar Roachs ferocity to deal with,Rohit played with high elbows and soft hands for 21 balls,until Sammy decided to tempt him with a spinner. While Martins flighted nothing was planted somewhere outside Orissa,he also proved he can change gears in a whim soon after by caressing Russell through the packed off-side for the best cover-drive of the tour.

Jadeja partnered Rohit for 83 runs and Ravichandran Ashwin for 17,before the latter proved that the run-out off the last ball of the Test series was just the beginning of many such brain freezes.

With an easy double on offer,Ashwin refused to run the second and was run-out Mumbai Test style. But Ashwin will thank his lucky stars that the antics put forth by the last batting pair will surely ensure that his running-between-the-wicket issues will only be remembered for Wankhede.