Thursday, Apr 25, 2024 | Last Update : 11:12 PM IST
MS Dhoni no longer the best finisher?
MSD crawls to 114-ball 54 as India go down to West Indies.
North Sound (Antigua): India’s much-vaunted batting line-up collapsed on a slow track, allowing underdogs West Indies to pull of a stunning 11-run victory in the fourth ODI here. The West Indies, who had failed to challenge India enough in this series, scored a modest 189/9, but the visitors ended 11 runs short of the target.
Proven finisher Mahendra Singh Dhoni (54 off 114 balls) looked a pale shadow of his previous self and failed to steer India home despite spending considerable time at the crease. India needed 31 runs off the last five overs with both Dhoni and Hardik Pandya (20 off 21) in the middle but the visitors were all out for 178 in 49.4 overs.
A disappointed Dhoni was spotted sitting alone in dejection.
The five-match series is still locked in India’s favour at 2-1 after the opening match was rained out. The fifth and final match of the rubber will be played on July 6 in Jamaica.
From overs 35 to 43, India scored just 23 runs, making heavy weather of the chase. The 44th over by part-timer Roston Chase fetched India 16 runs that eased off the pressure a bit but the team still fell short.
West Indies captain Jason Holder (5/27) not only removed Virat Kohli (3) upfront, he also got rid of Pandya at a crucial juncture in his memorable five-wicket haul. It was one of the slowest innings by Dhoni slowest as he took 108 balls to get to his 64th fifty in the ODIs. He scored his first boundary in the 103rd ball he faced.
The stumper-batsman eventually holed out to Alzarri Joseph at he boundary ropes off Kesrick Williams off the last ball of the 49th over, leaving the team struggling at 176 for eight. Holder removed Umesh Yadav and Mohammed Shami in the last over to complete the w in.
Opener Ajinkya Rahane (60) hit his fourth ODI fifty in a row in an otherwise poor batting display by top-order. He shared a 54-run partnership with Dhoni. The visitors lost three wickets — Shikhar Dhawan (5), captain Virat Kohli (3) and Dinesh Karthik (2) — upfront but with Rahane and Dhoni both at the crease, India were still favourites to win the match.
