Rampaul swings West Indies to victory June 28, 2009

2nd ODI: West Indies v India in Kingston

Cricinfo staff

Ravi Rampaul's inclusion in place of Lionel Baker paid rich dividends, as he put in his best bowling performance, taking 4 for 37, to help West Indies bowl India out for 188 and win by eight wickets to level the series 1-1.

Rampaul pegged India back in his very first over, capturing the wickets of Gautam Gambhir and Rohit Sharma in a space of two deliveries. Gambhir attempted a cut and got a thin edge to the keeper. Bowling to Rohit, Rampaul wanted the second slip out, but Gayle persisted. And how it worked. Rohit chased a wide outswinger, Ramdin went too hard at the catch, but the second slip took the rebound. Seven for 3 in 1.4 overs, and there was still a long queue outside the Sabina Park.

Rampaul wasn't done yet. He returned to have Ravindra Jadeja, who, struggling for form, played away from his body and nicked one to Denesh Ramdin in a manner identical to his dismissal in the series opener. Rampaul then capped off his spell with the wicket of Praveen Kumar to leave India tottering at 82 for 8 before MS Dhoni and RP Singh staged a recovery.

Still, it was the burst of early wickets by Rampaul and his fellow seamers that handed West Indies the advantage, which they held onto till the conclusion of the game to come roaring back into the series after the 20-run loss in a high-scoring fixture at the same venue two days prior.

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