WI vs India: First ODI

India unnecessarily choked (almost!) and drove the match to the brink. Mohd. Kaif fighting his way back to form almost earned his team a defeat by struggling at the very end before pulling it off with a 4 on the penultimate delivery. If India had lost, cries for Kaif’s head would have multiplied overnight. In any case, I suspect the man seems to be recovering from his slump.

Dravid’s innings was perfect, to say the least. He appears to be in the best form of his career. Leading from the front, he should no signs of panic whatsoever even when the asking rate started to climb. His pull shot and straight drive of Taylor early in the innings were absolute copy-book. His six over mid-on showed that he can make the occassional big hits when needed.

The WI are so unpredictable and that’s part of why they are an interesting bunch to watch. When WI get going, they can be match winners. A case in point. Taylor who opened the bowling was instantly attacked by both Dravid and Viru. He came back into the attack with 4 overs to go and produced a gem of an over. Kaif faced 5 balls which produced no runs and the last ball earned him a single!

The seamers bowl at a consistent 135+. Batsman like Gayle and Lara can single handedly destroy the opposition. However, the WI fielding was what made the ultimate difference. So many direct hits were missed and a few catches were dropped which combined proved too costly for the team as a whole.