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 2^nd 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 10^th 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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