Sammy takes Windies to thrilling win

VISAKHAPATNAM: After being at the receiving end thus far on the tour, the West Indians finally woke up from their slumber to script a remarkable two-wicket win in the second ODI and keep the three-match series alive at the Dr YS Rajasekhar Reddy ACA-VDCA Stadium, here on Sunday night.

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Chasing a not-too-easy 289 for victory, the visitors took advantage of the dew factor as the Indian bowlers and fielders had a tough time on the field. In a thrilling finish, Test captain Darren Sammy held his nerves with a 45-ball 63 (4x4, 4x6) to take his side home with three balls to spare.

The West Indian chase revolved around the 100-run partnership for the third wicket between Kieran Powell (59; 70b, 7x4, 1x6) and Darren Bravo (50; 54b, 8x4) and the 82-run stand for the sixth wicket between Lendl Simmons (62; 74b, 5x4, 1x6) and Sammy. Earlier, in the slyvan settings of Madhurawada, Virat Kohli continued from where he had left in Kochi. The Indian vice-captain produced yet another masterly knock but failed in his bid to notch up a hat-trick of centuries here.

In his previous two outings here, the 25-year-old Kohli had got 118 against the Australians and 117 against the Sri Lankans. From the moment he took guard with the Indian total reading 21 for one, there never seemed to be any doubts about Kohli not getting a third century. The man, who has two centuries and three half-centuries in his last six innings, took his time to settle down and never seemed to be in a hurry. He curbed his aggressive instincts and bid his time before applying the throttle.

Kohli, who survived a caught and bowled chance by West Indian skipper Dwayne Bravo on 63, seemed intent on reaching yet another three-figure mark. After reaching the 90s, he slowed down a bit and eschewed risk. However on 99, his IPL teammate Ravi Rampaul, who finished with a four for 60 haul, played spoilsport when he dug in a short one and Kohli's eyes lit up at the opportunity to reach the landmark with a boundary. The resultant hook went up in the air and Jason Holder pulled off a stunning catch at fine leg. Holder took it very low and then got up and roared as his joy knew no bounds.

A stunned Kohli went back shaking his head in disbelief. There was hardly any brute power on display today from the Delhi batsman. Instead it was all silken touch as he caressed nine boundaries in his 100-ball innings. However, it was the ever marauding skipper MS Dhoni who lent the finishing touches to the innings with a brutal half-century.

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Shweta Pandey

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