ICC CWC 2019 Match 34 highlights: India demolish West Indies by 125 runs
Indian bowlers led by the deadly Mohammed Shami produced yet another splendid performance to put their team on the cusp of a semi-final berth
 "Virat Kohli, ICC CWC 2019")
Virat Kohli. Photo: Reuters
In Match 34 of ICC cricket World Cup 2019 (CWC), Indian bowlers led by the deadly Mohammed Shami produced yet another splendid performance to put their team on the cusp of a semi-final berth with a 125-run rout of the West Indies at The Old Trafford in Manchester on Thursday. With 11 points, India are now almost through and another win in their next three games will seal their position in the top four as West Indies were knocked out with two games remaining. India scored 268 for 7, riding on half-centuries by Virat Kohli (72 off 82 balls) and Mahendra Singh Dhoni (56 off 61 balls) and it turned out to be good enough as West Indies were shot out for 124 in only 34.2 overs. In two successive matches now, the bowlers have more than covered up for a mediocre show from the batsmen, save skipper Kohli. Shami (4/16 in 6.2 overs) was at his best in the first spell as he first bounced Chris Gayle out and then bowled an off-cutter to remove Shai Hope.
Check 2019 cricket world cup points table hereICC Cricket World Cup 2019: India vs West Indies full scorecard
In his second spell, he got Shimron Hetmyer while new ball partner Jasprit Bumrah (2/9 in 6 overs) was fast and accurate getting two wickets of successive deliveries.
Kuldeep Yadav (1/35 in 9 overs) and Yuzvendra Chahal (2/39 in 7 overs) were too hot for the Caribbean batsmen on a track, where run scoring became increasingly difficult with passage of time.
The last seven wickets fell for 63 runs in a space of 14 overs which indicated the Caribbean plight.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar with his incisive swing bowling has always been Chris Gayle's (6 off 19 balls) nemesis but it was in-form Shami, who drew the first blood with a short ball that climbed on the big man and the mistimed pull was taken by Kedar Jadhav, running sideways from his mid-on position.
Hope, West Indies' next big hope, got one from Shami that came in breaching his defence.
Sunil Ambris (31, 40 balls) and Nicholas Pooran (28 off 50 balls) steadied the ship with a 55-run stand before both were dismissed in quick succession.
Hardik Pandya trapped Ambris plumb in-front before Pooran mistimed a lofted shot to Shami in the deep.
The skipper Jason Holder then played a rank bad shot off Chahal as West Indies were knocked out of the contest at the halfway stage, reeling at 98 for five.
When India batted, Dhoni scratched around for the better part of his innings before exploding in the final over to take India to 268 for 7 on a track that look good for batting.
There has been a lot of talk about Dhoni's failure to rotate the strike and Thursday's batting effort on another dry and slow track will only amplify the criticism before he got 16 in the final over to finish on 56 off 61 deliveries with three fours and two sixes.
More than his strike-rate, his percentage of dot balls remains a concern for India.
If India played 152 dot balls against Afghanistan, the run-less delivery count was 163 in this game.
It was Pandya, whose 46 off 38 balls took India past 250-run mark after skipper Kohli scored his fourth half-century.
The middle-order looked jittery again with skipper Kohli not getting enough support from the other batsmen.
In fact, Dhoni's rustiness rubbed off a bit on the Indian captain, who ultimately gifted his wicket to his opposite number.
Kohli hit eight boundaries with stand-out shot being a lofted drive over covers off Oshane Thomas.
Veteran Kemar Roach (3/36) bowled fast and fuller length deliveries using the off-cutters to good effect while skipper Holder (2/33 in 10 overs) was economical, troubling the batsmen with back of the length deliveries.
Left-arm spinner Fabian Allen (0/52 in 10 overs) didn't get any wicket but a crucial aspect of his spell was the last five overs in which he gave away only 15 runs.
This was another left-arm spinner after Mitchell Santner and Shakib Al Hasan, who has now troubled Dhoni with his wicket-to-wicket bowling.
When Holder and Roach bowled fast and back of length, the former India captain found it difficult to manoeuvre the bowling but the final score turned out to be much above par.
Here are the playing 11 of both the teams
India playing 11: Virat Kohli (C), KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma, Vijay Shankar, MS Dhon, Kedar Jadhav, Hardik Pandya, Mohammed Shami, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal and Jasprit Bumrah.
West Indies playing 11: Jason Holder (C), Chris Gayle, Sunil Ambris, Shai Hope, Nicholas Pooran, Shimron Hetmyer, Carlos Brathwaite, Fabian Allen, Kemar Roach, Sheldon Cottrell and Oshane Thomas.
Overall: 129
India: 58
West Indies: 62
No Result: 3
Abandoned: 2
Tie: 2
Cancelled: 2
In World Cup
India: 6
West Indies: 3
Stay tuned for India vs West Indies LIVE score, toss, playing 11 updates and match commentary here
India beat West Indies by 125 runs and knock them out of ICC CWC 2019
Over 34.2; India won by 125 runs
Mohammed Shami [6.0-0-16-3] is back into the attack
Over 34; CRR: 4.21 REQ: 7.88
Chahal continues
Over 33; CRR: 4.09 REQ: 7.88
Kuldeep Yadav continues
Over 32
Chahal continues
Over 31
Kuldeep Yadav [7.0-0-29-1] is back into the attack
Over 30; Cottrell departs after hitting a GIGANTIC SIX
Chahal continues
Over 29; Hetmyer departs
Mohammed Shami [5.0-0-15-2] is back into the attack
Ball 4: Cottrell tries to pull the short delivery, misses.
Over 28; CRR: 4 REQ: 7.14
Chahal continues
Over 27; Bumrah takes back-to-back wickets
Bumrah continues
Over 26; CRR: 4.12 REQ: 6.75
Chahal continues
Over 25
Jasprit Bumrah [4.0-0-6-0] is back into the attack
Over 24
Chahal continues
Over 23
Kuldeep Yadav continues
Ball 2: DOT
Over 22
Yuzvendra Chahal, right-arm leg break, comes into the attack
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First Published: Jun 27 2019 | 12:28 PM IST
