RESULT
16th Match, Group E (D/N), Lord's, June 12, 2009, ICC World Twenty20
153/7
(18.4/20 ov, T:154) 156/3

West Indies won by 7 wickets (with 8 balls remaining)

Player Of The Match
66* (36) & 4/38
dwayne-bravo
Report

All-round Bravo floors defending champions

An under-tested India ran into a red-hot West Indies

West Indies 156 for 3 (Bravo 66*, Simmons 44) beat India 153 for 7 (Yuvraj 67, Yusuf 31, Bravo 4-38, Edwards 3-24) by seven wickets
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out
An under-tested India ran into a red-hot West Indies, who didn't even need a significant contribution from Chris Gayle during a tense chase. Dwayne Bravo was his usual top-dawg self today, taking four wickets to keep India down and then resurrecting the chase after a subdued Gayle had got out early, with an innings that was both aesthetic and cruel.
By the time Bravo came out to bat, India had made a smart start to their defence of a fighting 153. After Zaheer Khan went for two boundaries in the first over, MS Dhoni chose to give Gayle no pace. Three of the Powerplay overs were bowled by spinners, and two by Irfan Pathan who didn't come on to the bat either. Harbhajan Singh, especially, fast-tracked Gayle's downfall, bowling a maiden to him to finish the Powerplays. Gayle had reached 20 off 23, after which frustration got the better of him, and he top-edged Yusuf Pathan, who had done well to keep him quiet in his first two overs.
Quietly, though, No. 3 Lendl Simmons, who had earlier taken a blinder, had quietly played himself in. And just when it seemed West Indies were out of it, having got off to a slow start, Bravo changed the pace of the game. With Bravo came more intent in the running and odd boundaries that kept West Indies with the rate. His batting was a treat for the eye. He often went inside-out to the spinners, stepping out and clearing extra cover in one fluid motion.
Pragyan Ojha, who was kept back until Gayle got out, got the treatment in the ninth over, and Yusuf was late-cut just as effectively in the 10th. There was nothing frenetic about this partnership, no undue risks or big hitting, even as the required run-rate stayed around nine and 10. It was almost as if they knew something that others didn't. When Bravo drove Harbhajan over extra cover in the 12th over, followed by more good running, West Indies had reached 80, and the target looked within reach.
When Dhoni brought back his fast bowlers, it was Simmons' turn to pick up the pace, as boundaries in the next two overs kept West Indies abreast. With the second four, a vicious pull off Ishant Sharma, Simmons moved into the 40s, almost unnoticed. When Ojha got Simmons for 43 in the next over, West Indies still needed 54 off 33. But it was also the time Bravo found another gear. The next ball he lofted for a six down the ground, ensuring there was no break in the momentum. Harbhajan bowled a tight next over, after which West Indies were left needing 39 off 24.
Even that couldn't get anything rash out of Bravo, who kept hitting straight, or over extra cover. With Shivnarine Chanderpaul joining in and hitting unorthodox shots like only he can, it became a stroll towards the end. Quite fittingly, Bravo ended it with a six off Zaheer Khan, over extra cover, elbow high for the pose.
Top Curve
Prime Numbers
  • 7

    The number of overs in which India scored 5 or less. West Indies had only three such overs
  • 48

    The number of runs scored off Indian spinners by Bravo
  • 37

    The number of balls sent to the boundary in the match, the third highest tally in the tournament.
  • 13

    Number of dot-balls faced by Dhoni in the match. He faced a total of 23 balls in the match.
  • 81

    Harbhajan Singh's bowling average in the tournament. Even though the economy rate of 6.75 is good, the inability to take wickets has caused his average to rise.
Bottom Curve
West Indies shouldn't have been chasing 154 in the first place. Like the one against Australia, even this win was originally set up by fast bowlers relishing the lively conditions. But unlike then, their bowling was backed up by solid fielding today, but for just one lapse. It was that dropped chance off Yuvraj Singh, when he was 32 off 27, that made the game close.
This time it was Jerome Taylor's opening partner, Edwards, who put West Indies ahead. The tone, though, was set by Taylor in the first over, troubling Gautam Gambhir with the bouncers. Edwards took the cue, and removed his Deccan Chargers team-mate, Rohit Sharma, with a bouncer. He troubled Suresh Raina too with the short-pitched stuff until the latter played back to a full delivery and edged it to Denesh Ramdin.
It was now time for the fielders to stand up, as Simmons took a superb running-back-and-diving catch to send Gambhir back. It was a short delivery again, the first Gambhir faced from Bravo - 29 for 3 in the fifth over.
Yuvraj and Dhoni had no choice but to consolidate. Gayle and Kieron Pollard slipped in five overs for just 20 runs. Under pressure to get going, Dhoni cut Bravo straight to sweeper-cover. Two balls later, Yuvraj picked the same fielder out, but was dropped by Andre Fletcher. India would have been 71 for 5, but for the drop. Whereupon, Yuvraj played a little gem to pull India out of all sorts of trouble, but it would stay the second-best effort of the night.
His hitting was clean, there was no need to be cute as he and Yusuf threatened to run away with the game. But Edwards finished off what he started, taking Yuvraj with a bouncer in the 18th over, after which India got only 23 off the last 14 balls.

Sidharth Monga is a staff writer at Cricinfo

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ICC World Twenty20

Group A
TEAMMWLPTNRR
IND22041.227
IRE2112-0.162
BAN2020-0.996
Group B
TEAMMWLPTNRR
ENG21121.175
PAK21120.850
NED2112-2.025
Group C
TEAMMWLPTNRR
SL22040.626
WI21120.715
AUS2020-1.331
Group D
TEAMMWLPTNRR
SA22043.275
NZ21120.309
SCOT2020-5.281
Group E
TEAMMWLPTNRR
SA33060.787
WI32140.063
ENG3122-0.414
IND3030-0.466
Group F
TEAMMWLPTNRR
SL33061.267
PAK32141.185
NZ3122-0.232
IRE3030-2.183