An inspired bowling performance from the West Indies and a lamentable batting display from India produced a freak and shocking result in the 4th ODI, at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua. West Indies’ victory has kept this ODI series alive with one match left to play. At a time when 300+ scores are being chased down with significant ease, few will have imagined a strong batting line-up as India’s failing to overhaul a target of 190, after a changed Indian bowling attack had kept the West Indies down to just 189/9 in 50 overs.
Defending a small score, the West Indian bowlers struck early and removed Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli cheaply. Jason Holder dismissed Virat Kohli for the second successive time this series. Early wickets exposed what is a suspect Indian middle order, who had a job to do with the score at 25/2 inside six overs. A 54-run fourth wicket partnership between Ajinkya Rahane, who himself made 60 off 91 balls, and MS Dhoni, (54 off 114 balls), had taken India past 100 with 19-odd overs remaining.
And just when the match seemed to be slipping from West Indies’s clutches, Devendra Bishoo dismissed Rahane in the 31st over, bringing the 4th ODI back in the balance. The lower middle order had a job to do and the home team’s bowling was up to the task. Kedar Jadhav fell soon after Rahane, for just 10, and only at this juncture the required run rate became a factor in India’s chase.
With the likes of Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja yet to come, you will have fancied the Men in Blue to win the 4th ODI and with it the series. But Holder removed these two dangerous batsmen in the 45th and 47th over, to brighten his team’s chances of winning the match. India’s failure to score runs and thereby transfer the pressure onto the home team proved to be their undoing.
When Dhoni is at the crease beyond 40 overs in a chase, you expect him to take his team over the finishing line. But he was playing a strange innings here, struggling to manoeuvre the ball and play the big shots too. He brought up his half-century off 108 balls and his lack of rhythm was a significant reason in India suffering an 11-run defeat. The visitors had needed only 16 runs off the final two overs, but Kesrick Williams bowled a superb 49th over in which he conceded just two runs and also dismissed Dhoni, his first victim in ODIs.
The most significant contribution for the West Indies and in the entire match came from the skipper Holder, who took 5/27, taking vital wickets at opportune times. He was well-supported by Kesrick Williams (1), Alzarri Joseph (2), Devendra Bishoo (1), and Ashley Nurse (1), who bowled economical spells, most importantly.
Earlier in the day, having opted to bat first, West Indies managed only 189 in their 50 overs, as Umesh Yadav (3), Hardik Pandya (3) and Kuldeep Yadav (2) took eight wickets between them. In fact, the Indian bowling attack collectively produced a superb performance, though none of the West Indies top order batsmen capitalised—Lewis 35, Kyle Hope 35, Shai Hope 25, Roston Chase 24, and Jason Mohammed 20—on the starts they got off to.
Holder was awarded the man-of-the-match for his match-winning spell.
4th ODI, cricket scorecard
Playing XIs
West Indies: Jason Holder (c), Evin Lews, Kyle Hope, Shai Hope, Roston Chase, Jason Mohammed, Rovman Powell, Devendra Bishoo, Kesrick Williams, Ashley Nurse, and Alzarri Joseph
India: Virat Kohli (c), Ajinkya Rahane, Shikhar Dhawan, Dinesh Karthik, MS Dhoni, Kedar Jadhav, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, and Umesh Yadav
Scores
WI 189/9 (Lewis 35 and K Hope 35; Umesh 3/36 and Hardik 3/40)
IND 178/10 (Rahane 60 and Dhoni 54; Holder 5/27 and Joseph 2/46)
| West Indies innings (toss: West Indies, who chose to bat first) | |||||
| Batsman | Dismissal | Runs scored | No. of 4s | No. of 6s | Strike rate |
| Evin Lewis | caught Kohli, bowled Kuldeep | 35 (60) | 2 | 2 | 58.33 |
| Kyle Hope | caught Jadhav, bowled Pandya | 35 (63) | 4 | 0 | 55.55 |
| Shai Hope | caught Dhoni, bowled Pandya | 25 (39) | 1 | 0 | 64.10 |
| Roston Chase | bowled Kuldeep | 24 (34) | 2 | 0 | 70.58 |
| Jason Mohammed | caught Jadeja, bowled Pandya | 20 (33) | 1 | 0 | 60.60 |
| Jason Holder | caught Dhoni, bowled Umesh | 11 (10) | 1 | 0 | 110.00 |
| Rovman Powell | caught Jadeja, bowled Umesh | 2 (9) | 0 | 0 | 22.22 |
| Ashley Nurse | caught and bowled Umesh | 4 (12) | 0 | 0 | 33.33 |
| Devendra Bishoo | run out by Jadeja | 15 (30) | 0 | 0 | 50.00 |
| Alzarri Joseph | not out | 5 (7) | 0 | 0 | 71.42 |
| Kesrick Williams | not out | 2 (3) | 0 | 0 | 66.66 |
| Extras: 11 (10 wides and 1 leg bye) | |||||
| WI’s total: 189/9 in 50 overs, at 3.78 runs per over | |||||
| Fall of wickets: 57/1 (K Hope, 17.2), 80/2 (Lewis, 21.5), 121/3 (Chase, 31.2), 136/4 (S Hope, 34.6), 154/5 (Holder, 38.1), 161/6 (Powell, 40.5), 162/7 (Mohammed, 41.2), 179/8 (Nurse, 47.2), and 184/9 (Bishoo, 48.4) | |||||
| India bowling | |||||
| Bowlers | Overs | Maidens | Runs conceded | Wickets taken | Economy rate |
| Mohammed Shami | 10 | 2 | 33 | 0 | 3.30 |
| Umesh Yadav | 10 | 1 | 36 | 3 | 3.60 |
| Ravindra Jadeja | 10 | 0 | 48 | 0 | 4.80 |
| Hardik Pandya | 10 | 0 | 40 | 3 | 4.00 |
| Kuldeep Yadav | 10 | 1 | 31 | 2 | 3.10 |
| Indian innings (target: 190 runs in 50 overs, at 3.80 runs per over) | |||||
| Batsman | Dismissal | Runs scored | No. of 4s | No. of 6s | Strike rate |
| Ajinkya Rahane | caught S Hope, bowled Bishoo | 60 (91) | 7 | 0 | 65.93 |
| Shikhar Dhawan | caught Holder, bowled Joseph | 5 (7) | 0 | 0 | 71.42 |
| Virat Kohli | caught S Hope, bowled Holder | 3 (12) | 0 | 0 | 25.00 |
| Dinesh Karthik | caught S Hope, bowled Joseph | 2 (19) | 0 | 0 | 10.52 |
| MS Dhoni | caught Joseph, bowled Williams | 54 (114) | 1 | 0 | 47.36 |
| Kedar Jadhav | caught S Hope, bowled Nurse | 10 (14) | 0 | 0 | 71.42 |
| Hardik Pandya | bowled Holder | 20 (21) | 1 | 1 | 95.23 |
| Ravindra Jadeja | caught Powell, bowled Holder | 11 (11) | 1 | 0 | 100.00 |
| Kuldeep Yadav | not out | 2 (6) | 0 | 0 | 33.33 |
| Umesh Yadav | bowled Holder | 0 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Mohammed Shami | caught Chase, bowled Holder | 1 (2) | 0 | 0 | 50.00 |
| Extras: 10 wides | |||||
| India’s total: 178/10 in 49.4 overs, at 3.58 runs per over | |||||
| Fall of wickets: 10/1 (Dhawan, 2.1), 25/2 (Kohli, 5.6), 47/3 (Karthik, 12.4), 101/4 (Rahane, 30.5), 116/5 (Jadhav, 35.4), 159/6 (Pandya, 45.1), 173/7 (Jadeja, 47.3), 176/8 (Dhoni, 48.6), 176/9 (Umesh, 49.1), and 178/10 (Shami, 49.4) | |||||
| West Indies bowling | |||||
| Bowlers | Overs | Maidens | Runs conceded | Wickets taken | Economy rate |
| Alzarri Joseph | 9 | 2 | 46 | 2 | 5.11 |
| Jason Holder | 9.4 | 2 | 27 | 5 | 2.79 |
| Kesrick Williams | 10 | 0 | 29 | 1 | 2.90 |
| Devendra Bishoo | 10 | 1 | 31 | 1 | 3.10 |
| Ashley Nurse | 10 | 0 | 29 | 1 | 2.90 |
| Roston Chase | 1 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 16.00 |