West Indies defy odds,make it even

He had done little of note in Kochi during the first ODI. But as he walked out to bat at the ACA-VDCA Stadium in Visakhapatnam,fate had given him a shot at redemption. The West Indian top-order had batted their team into a position of strength and then thrown it all away. But with 104 required off 93 balls,the onus was on the 29-year-old all-rounder to do the star-turn.

And with a mixture of calculated risks,clean-striking and steely nerves,Sammy took the visitors home in style,orchestrating West Indies fourth highest run-chase in ODIs. He also proved that on his day,he can be a real match-winner for his team in the limited-overs format,remaining unbeaten on 63 off 45 balls and levelling the series for the visitors.

Kohlis 99 in vain

Sammys match-winning effort proved an anti-climax for the capacity crowd that expected an Indian win after Virat Kohlis 99 had seen India reach 288/7. After Kohlis departure at the end of 40th over,skipper MS Dhoni raced to a 40-ball 51 with a flurry of big hits. Had Kohli scored one more run he would have had three tons from three outings at this venue. The decibel-level rarely came down when Kohli was at the crease or during Dhonis cameo. And with West Indies reduced to 23/2 in reply,the India fans seemed all set to celebrate the series win. But Sammy was to play spoilsport for locals.

First he decided to get his eye in,playing out a maiden over from Ravindra Jadeja during the batting power-play. While Lendl Simmons eased himself to a half-century at the other end,Sammys first boundary didnt come till the 17th delivery he faced.

The first,a low full-toss from Mohammed Shami,was drilled past extra-cover and then a short delivery on his pads was swivel-pulled to the deep square-leg fence. In the next over,he launched a half-pitch delivery from Bhuvneshwar Kumar over the mid-wicket fence.

Sammy was to hit three more sixes,all off seamers. At one point the required rate had crept up to around nine an over but Sammys blows kept the men from the Caribbean well and truly in the hunt.

At the other end,Simmons was playing out his own redemption tune. The Trinidadian,whose career too has been one of missed opportunities,had played the anchor-role till Sammys arrival but had ensured with timely boundaries that the required rate never went out of control.

Ideally,the West Indians would have expected the right-hander to carry on till the end. But one thing you know about this present West Indian outfit is that a collapse is always round the corner. Simmonss dismissal for a 74-ball 62,was soon followed by Shamis twin strikes as Jason Holder and Sunil Narine got out playing ludicrous shots. With the scoreboard reading 285/7,West Indies needed four more for a win. Sammy kept his cool and ensured that there were no more unwanted hiccups.

Butter fingers

Sammy and Simmons added a crucial 82 runs off just 75 balls and it was their partnership that really brought the West Indians to the cusp of a famous win.

The incessant dew not only made bowling a difficult task,it also ensured that the Indians were butter-fingered,dropping five catches in all,including a crucial drop by Yuvraj Singh that let off Simmons. The result keeps the series alive. Over to Kanpur for the decider on Wednesday.