Chennai, Dec 11: India have finished the five-match ODI series against the West Indies 4-1 after winning the Chennai ODI by 34 runs here at the MA Chidambaram Stadium today. After Manoj Tiwary struck an elegant 104 (retired hurt) to take the Indians to a competitive 267, the visitors were bowled out for 233 despite a sizzling innings from Kieron Pollard (119 off 110 balls, 4x4, 10x6).
Earlier, India made a few changes to their side for the final ODI. Ajinkya Rahane, Manoj Tiwary and Irfan Pathan replaced the trio of Virender Sehwag, Vinay Kumar and R Ashwin. With Sehwag sitting this one out, stand-in captain Gautam Gambhir won the toss and elected to bat first.
The Indians were put under pressure early on as Kemar Roach took two wickets off consecutive deliveries; Ajinkya Rahane (0) and Parthiv Patel (0) were sent back to the dressing room in the very first over. However, Manoj Tiwary not only refused Roach a hat-trick but also struck an 83-run stand with Gautam Gambhir to steady the Indian innings.
Gambhir made 31 off 41 deliveries that included only two hits to the fence before he was trapped lbw by legspinner Anthony Martin off the last ball of the 19th over. India were 84 for three at that stage.
Tiwary, whose highest score in five previous ODI innings was 24, then helped himself to a well-paced century in the company of Virat Kohli that also saw the Indian score get past 200. Tiwary made 104 before he retired hurt due to cramps on a sweltering Chennai afternoon.
Kohli looked good to bring in his fifth ODI century of 2011 but became Anthony Martin’s second victim of the afternoon when he was caught by Marlon Samuels at long-on for 80. Rohit Sharma (21 off 26) and Suresh Raina (16 off 12) helped the hosts post a competitive 267 for six in the allotted 50 overs.
Much like the Indian innings, the visitors’ run chase got off to an ominous start. Irfan Pathan took a wicket with the very first ball of the innings to remove Lendl Simmons (0) and followed it up with the wicket of Kieran Powell (15). Abhimanyu Mithun impressed with two wickets of his own to leave the West Indies tottering at 36 for four. Ravindra Jadeja then reduced the visitors to 78 for five in 15.5 overs when he trapped Denesh Ramdin (14) lbw.
Kieron Pollard and Andre Russell fought the dismal situation with a feisty 89-run partnership (off just 13.1 overs). But with Russell (53) run-out off a direct hit from Gautam Gambhir, the West Indies were once in trouble at 167 for six.
Darren Sammy (3), Sunil Narine (8) and Kemar Roach (0) couldn’t provide much support to Pollard, who was content with putting on a one-man show at Chepauk. The burly all-rounder was dropped by Virat Kohli on 99 but even his 10 sixes on the night couldn’t see the visitors past the finish line. Pollard (119) was eventually caught by Ajinkya Rahane at long-off as he tried to hit Suresh Raina for one six too many in the 45th over to bring an end to the keenly contested series.
Brief scores: India 267/6 in 50.0 overs (Manoj Tiwary 84 retd. hurt, Virat Kohli 80, Anthony Martin 2/47) beat West Indies 233 all out in 44.1 overs (Kieron Pollard 119, Andre Russell 53, Ravindra Jadeja 3/62) by 34 runs
Man-of-the-match: Manoj Tiwary for his steady 104 off 126 balls that saw India post a winning total of 267
Man-of-the-series: Rohit Sharma for his 305 runs from five innings at an average of 76.25, which included three half-centuries
