Captain MS Dhoni hit an unbeaten 46 off 34 balls yesterday to lift India to a six-wicket Duckworth/Lewis victory over West Indies with one ball to spare in the rain-affected third one-day international at Beausejour Stadium. India needed 11 off the final over and Dhoni hit a six off the second ball from pacer Jerome Taylor to help guide his team to 159-4 off 21.5 overs.
West Indies had totaled 186-7 off 27 overs in an innings disturbed three times by persistent rain.
Ramnaresh Sarwan top-scored with 62 off 59 deliveries. Captain Chris Gayle (27), Runako Morton (22) and Darren Bravo (21) chipped in with useful contributions. Left-arm seamer Ashish Nehra claimed 3-21 off five overs while Harbhajan Singh 2-35 off his quota of five. India got a fine start from openers Dinesh Karthik (47 off 43 balls) and Gautam Gambhir (44 off 38 balls). The pair was separated just before a fourth rain interruption halted play at 95-1 off 13.3 overs. India resumed needing 64 runs off 51 balls and Dhoni steered the victory course, lashing two fours and a six in his match-winning knock. The match was delayed for just over two hours after persistent rain swept across the ground soon after India won the toss and inserted the home team. The West Indies got a flying start at 27-0 off 3.3 overs as captain Chris Gayle cut loose once play began.
The left-hander hit six fours but was out to the first ball back after the first rain break, edging a square cut off Nehra to wicket-keeper Dhoni. Sarwan and Runako Morton (22) added 51 for the second wicket amongst two more rain interruptions. Morton was eventually stumped off Harbhajan Singh at 78-2. Sarwan dominated the middle order as fellow Guyanese Shiv Chanderpaul (15), Dwayne Bravo (14) and Darren Bravo chipped in. Denesh Ramdin hit 14 not out off six deliveries to deliver a late charge. Karthik gave India a rousing start with a flurry of boundaries against the new ball. Left-hander Gambhir played the anchor role as the visitors built a sound platform. The two batsmen took a number of sneaky singles but were finally made to pay when Karthik was run out three short of fifty at 84-1. He was undone by a direct hit from Ravi Rampaul from short third man.
After another rain delay, the West Indies fought back with the wickets of Gambir, Yuvraj Singh (2) and Rohit Sharma (11) as the game went to a tense finish. Gambhir got an inside edge to the wicket-keeper off Sulieman Benn's left-arm spin while Yuvraj and Rohit holed out in the deep. Man of the Match Dhoni, however, played a level-headed innings and his massive six over midwicket off Taylor was the key moment in the match. India leads the four-match series 2-1 with the final contest to be played at the same venue tomorrow.
