Thursday, December 8, 2011

Grading the West Indies in India: the fourth ODI

After winning the third game to open up the series the West Indies harboured hopes of leveling the scores at 2-2 but these aspirations were soon dashed by Indian skipper Virender Sehwag who slammed a record 219 as his team amassed 418. That score was enough for a victory which ended up being by a margin of 153 runs.

Lendl Simmons

Any hopes West Indies harboured of successfully chasing down their huge target rested on Simmons providing a quick start. He did, but fell trying to keep up the momentum.

Grade: C

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Kieran Powell

The tall left-hander came in for his first game of the series, courtesy of an injury to Darren Bravo. He failed to make the most of his opportunity however, being senselessly run out at the non-striker’s end.

Grade: F

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Marlon Samuels

The silky Jamaican briefly lifted West Indian hopes with a 26-ball 33 but when he was deceived by a top-spinner from debutant Rahul Sharma the game was as good as over. In the face of the Indian batting onslaught the fact that he was one of two bowlers whose economy rates were below 7.5 says his bowling effort should be commended.

Grade: C

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Danza Hyatt

Hyatt never looked at ease, even more so in the over when he was dismissed. After being rapped on the pads a few times he was bowled between his legs as he chose to charge a Sharma leg-break.

Grade: F

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Denesh Ramdin

The wicket-keeper seized the opportunity for some stress-free runs, after his team had given up victory, to amass the highest score by a West Indian wicket-keeper in ODIs. He failed by four runs to top it off with his first century when he was last man out attempting to reach the landmark in the game’s final over.

Grade: B

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Kieron Pollard

The big man has said in the past he needs more overs to bat. He had at least 36 here but still only managed three runs. With the ball, he did manage to dismiss Sehwag but gave up more than nine runs per over doing it.

Grade: F

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Andre Russell

He claimed one wicket at nine per over and belted 29 from 24, but like the others before him could not sustain his attack.

Grade: C

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Darren Sammy

The captain looked lost in the field. He allowed himself just three overs which was a wise choice given the fact that he was the only bowler going at over 10 runs per over. The pressure of captaincy is definitely telling on him…how else can you explain the proliferation of dropped catches, including the dolly offered by Sehwag today. He did not do himself any justice with the bat either, holding out to long-off after scoring two.

Grade: F

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Ravi Rampaul

He could not repeat his heroics with the ball (as in the 3rd game), or with the bat (in the second), although he was one of two bowlers going at less than 7.5 per over.

Grade: D

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Kemar Roach

The paceman conceded 88 from his 10 overs while claiming a wicket in the closing stages of the Indian innings. He was pacey but that did not matter on this benign surface.

Grade: D

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Sunil Narine

After his impressive debut the off-spinner was brought back to earth with a bump, conceding 46 from his six overs. He showed he’s no rabbit with the bat, adding 64 for the 10th wicket with Ramdin.

Grade: C

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Monday, December 5, 2011

Grading the West Indies in India: the third ODI


The West Indies finally got it right! In the two previous games they had put themselves in good positions to win but always seemed to lack the killer instinct. This time around, despite the heroics of the Indian lower order, they held on to win by 16 runs in Ahmedabad and reduce the deficit to 2-1 in the five-match series.

Lendl Simmons

A rare failure for the Trinidadian opener, the team’s most consistent ODI batsman of 2011! He did not have much to do in the field and was not required to bowl more than two overs of his gentle medium-pace.

Grade: F

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Danza Hyatt

Promoted to open the batting in place of the omitted Adrian Barath, the stocky Jamaican hung around 39 balls for his 20 before gifting his wicket with a careless waft at a leg-side delivery.

Grade: D

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Marlon Samuels

He used his newly found irregular methods to effectively counter the early threat of the Indian seamers. After all the efforts he put into reaching 58 however he threw it away with an overly ambitious shot. In the field he claimed the critical wicket of Partiv Patel with a beauty and bowled well in spells.

Grade: B

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Darren Bravo

The left-hander, in partnership with Samuels, was slowly laying a foundation for a middle-order push when a hamstring strain cut short his innings on 26. He played no further part in the match.

Grade: I

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Denesh Ramdin

The wicket-keeper finally got some runs under his belt in the series, buckling down for a workman-like 38 while adding 55 for the fourth wicket with Kieron Pollard. He also put in some good work behind the stumps, the most notable being the diving catch down the leg-side to get rid of the unlucky Suresh Raina.

Grade: B-

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Kieron Pollard

Pollard got another start but just when he was attempting to switch gears he was well taken in the outfield by Rajendra Jadeja. He was once again good in the field but was only required to bowl one over, which proved to be pretty tidy.

Grade: C+

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Andre Russell

Today he was half of the blitzkrieg that hit the Indians for 79 from the last 34 balls of the innings. His 40 came from 18 balls and helped prove the difference in the final results. His four overs were expensive but his real contribution in the field came from a smart piece of work at point which resulted in the run out of Jadeja.

Grade: B

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Darren Sammy

The captain stepped up big time, smashing 41 from 17 with some clean orthodox hitting which, alongside Russell’s, helped carry WI to a par score on that ground. He almost threw the game away when he dropped Rohit Sharma on 37 (one of two misses) but made amends later with a bullet-like direct hit that ran out the Indian danger man for a classy 95.

Grade: B-

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Ravi Rampaul

The burly pacer had the Man-of-the-Match awarded snatched from his grasp in the previous game, but was not allowing anyone to steal his thunder this time around. He was not called on to bat after the heroics of Sammy and Russell so he set about making his impact with the ball. He did that tellingly with the wickets of Sehwag and Gambhir from his first two deliveries and ended the match by cutting short the dangerous cameo of tail-ender Mithun. His four wickets were sufficient for the award!

Grade: A-

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Kemar Roach

Although a bit expensive he bowled with real pace which was evident in the scorcher that knocked over Vinay Kumar in his final spell.

Grade: C+

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Sunil Narine

The debutant grabbed his opportunity immediately, troubling all the batsmen with his each way spin. His two wickets were critical too: the inform Virat Kohli and the stubborn Ravi Ashwin, the latter to break a seventh wicket stand of 91 with Sharma.

Grade: B

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Friday, December 2, 2011

Grading the West Indies in India: the second ODI

The West Indies took on India in the second of five One-Day Internationals on December 2nd in Visakhapatnam. After the close lost in Game 1 the visitors were hoping for a better showing but this was not to be. A top order failure left tail-enders Ravi Rampaul and Kemar Roach with the job of putting a respectable score on the board. In the end 269 for 9 it was not enough as WI went down by five wickets to concede a 0-2 lead in the series.


Lendl Simmons

Simmons was the only top order batsman who spent any considerable time at the crease. He batted well for his 78 and was on top of the bowling when an attempt to farm the strike resulted in his run out. He also bowled three tidy overs of medium-pace when called upon by the captain.

Grade: B

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Adrian Barath

Another failure for the diminutive Trinidadian who laboured eight deliveries without scoring! He did manage to pull off a magnificent catch to get rid of Gautam Gambhir.

Grade: D

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Marlon Samuels

Yet another failure as the WI top-order collapsed. His redeeming feature was that he captured the wicket of the dangerous Indian captain Virender Sehwag during his 10 economical overs.

Grade: D

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Darren Bravo

The left-hander failed to get among the runs on this occasion. It was not so much his failure but the way he got out, playing an ugly hoick to mid-on, that left a bitter taste in the mouth. He followed this up by dropping a relatively easy catch at third-man.

Grade: F

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Danza Hyatt

He did not last two long in the middle and was mostly invisible in the field.

Grade: F

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Denesh Ramdin

The batting woes that have beset West Indian wicket-keepers of recent continued with the Trinidadian once again contriving to bring about his own downfall. He also dropped a straightforward offering from centurion Virat Kohli early in his innings.

Grade: F

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Kieron Pollard

The big man looked ready to take on the Indian attack, motoring to 35 from 30 before he was adjudged caught behind, and this as he and Simmons were mounting a fight back. Although his bowling was nothing to shout about he did pull off a few good stops in the field.

Grade: C+

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Darren Sammy

Yet another failure with the bat for the captain! He didn’t impress with the ball either and his questionable field placing along with his dropped catch off Sehwag combined for a very poor outing for Darren Sammy.

Grade: F

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Adrian Russell

He threw away a perfect opportunity to improve his stock as a batsman with the shot he played and some 19 overs remaining. His bowling was also off-track as was reflected in his figures of none for 60 in just over eight overs.

Grade: F

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Ravi Rampaul

The man mostly responsible for turning this game into a contest! The big left-hander slammed a career-best 86 not out to help lift WI from 170 for nine to 269 for nine when the overs ran out. He also played his part in reducing India to 29 for two by removing Gambhir.

Grade: A-

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Kemar Roach

His level-headed batting ensured an unbroken 99 for the 10th wicket with Rampaul to turn the match into a contest. After his career-best 24 not out in that partnership the young fast bowler showed he was returning to something resembling top form with a hostile opening spell which accounted for Parthiv Patel and made all the other batsmen uncomfortable.

Grade: A-

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