Another tight Test match finish as WI (just) hold India to draw

India 482 (Ashwin 103, Tendulkar 94, Dravid 82, Samuels 3/74, Rampaul 3/95) & 9/242 (Kohli 63, Sehwag 60, Rampaul 3/56) drew with West Indies 590 (Bravo 166, K Edwards 86, Powell 81, Ashwin 5/156, Aaron 3/106) & 134 (Ojha 6-47, Ashwin 4-34) : T3/3 D5/5 at Mumbai. India win series 2-0.

A high scoring match for the first four days- 22 wickets for 1153 runs (including Sachin Tendulkar again just falling short of his elusive 100th international century for 94)  - turned sharply (as did  the pitch at times) on the last day when 17 wickets fell for 295.

The West Indies with some honourable exceptions (mostly reflected on the scorecard)  eased off when if not a victory then a face-and clean sweep saving draw looked likely. First the middle and lower order crumbled against the Indian spinners, giving the home team a chance to try for a win against an attack weakened by injuries to Darren Sammy and Devendra Bishoo. Then the available WI bowlers struggled  against positive batting and were let down by poor fielding: Virender Sehwag was dropped three times in his 60, and there was too much fumbling and suboptimal throwing in the tight final overs.

Even so, as India came within 20 runs of victory with 4 wickets in hand the West Indies refocused. Bishoo had Virat Kohli caught at slip: 7/224, then, as Ishant Sharma and Ravichandran Ashwin looked like getting their team over the line, the dogged Ravi Rampaul bowled Sharma with a yorker: 8/239, 4 runs or two wickets (depending on your side) to win. Yet neither side did, as the only further wicket to fall was Ashwin's, off the last ball of the last over (well bowled by Fidel Edwards) of the match.

In a limited overs game, this would have been a win to India, but in Test cricket it was a draw, only the second time a Test has ended with the scores level: the other instance was Zimbabwe v England in 1996  (when the current England coach was a thorn in the English side).

Over the series India were unquestionably the better side but the West Indies blew their chances of a win here with a feeble performance on D5. Let's hope the strong home team performances keep, as it deserves, the flame of Test cricket alive in that part of the world.

Presumably the Indian team to tour Australia will be built around this one. After the strong performances by spinners Ashwin and Pragyan Ojha in the three Tests I can't see Harbhajan Singh in the starting XI on Boxing Day let alone in the touring party, which may be a relief to some Australian players (and officials). But the two new guys look good, and seem to work well in tandem, at least on their home tracks. It will be good to see them (or whoever is chosen) on our pitches.
  
Scorecard

India win World Cup deservedly and comfortably

India 4/277 (48.2 ov, G Gambhir 97, M S Dhoni 91*) beat Sri Lanka 6/274 (50ov, M Jayawardene 103*, K Sangakkara 48) by six wickets: CWC 201 final at Mumbai ( aka Bombay). India win tournament.

Well done, India. Your victory confirms you as the top world team in the two major forms of the game: Tests and ODIs. T20 has taken a back seat for the moment and the future of the 50 overs (or thereabouts) a side game looks assured for the next few years, not only because India are both world champs and the financial powerhouse of world cricket but also because, despite the protracted length of the tornament, there were many good matches played.

The final was one of these. Sri Lanka, who for some odd reasons made four, not all forced, changes to their semifinal eleven were competitive thanks initially to Mahela Jaywardene's elegantly aggressive 103*/88b (13x4). Lasith Malinga's dismissals of Virender Sehwag 0 and Sachin Tendulkar 18 made India's road look rocky but then Gautam Gambhir 97/122b (9x4) and Virat Kohli 35/49b (4x4) steadied the ship before MS Dhoni took advantage of the second string bowlers to power his side home.

Dhoni's 91*/79b (2x6, 8x4) was the quintessential captain's knock. He hadn't had the best of tournaments with the bat but on this really big occasion backed himself to win, and did so imperiously. I'd sometimes thought he was an overrated cricketer, but no more.

Scorecard

West Indies post competitive total which Australia is chasing energetically

Australia 0/174 (48 ov, S Watson 96*, S Katich 71*) trail West Indies 451 (124.1 ov, D Bravo 101, B Nash 92, S Chanderpaul 62) by 277 runs with 10 1st inns wkts in hand: T2 D2 at Adelaide Oval

D2's play produced four wickets (all West Indian) for 285 runs. Brendan Nash batted determinedly for 92/178b (12x4) and with Ravi Rampaul's exuberant 40*/66b (2x6, 6x4) added 68 for the last wicket. Nash was unlucky not to register a century though he might have been a little more positive against Nathan Hauritz, who bowled several maiden overs to him while Rampaul was making hay in the sunshine of a benign pitch and Australian bowling which rarely threatened. At least he had the senses to give Rampaul his head and as much of the strike as possible.

451 looked a competitive total. That is until the considerable limitations of the West Indian attack were exposed by Shane Watson 96*/146 b (16x4) and Simon Katich 71*/148b (1x6, 4x4). Sulieman Benn's left arm spin was most successful in restraining the Australians: the others struggled to extract life from the pitch and, sometimes, for accuracy.

This match will certainly go for more than three days (and it's unlikely to be interrupted by the weather), and at present it looks as if Australia will at least match if not comfortably exceed the West Indies first innings score. We should know by this time tomorrow.

Elsewhere New Zealand require another 337 runs to beat Pakistan with 7 wkts in hand at Wellington while at Mumbai Sri Lanka are in trouble: they need 59 runs with 4 second innings wickets in hand to make India bat again.