RESULT
Final, Port of Spain, July 11, 2013, West Indies Tri-Nation Series
PrevNext
(49.4/50 ov, T:202) 203/9

India won by 1 wicket (with 2 balls remaining)

Player Of The Match
45* (52) & 3 stumpings
ms-dhoni
Player Of The Series
10 wkts
bhuvneshwar-kumar
New
IND
Full commentary

It was an extension of the Champions Trophy in England and it certainly didn't disappoint. The pitches were spicy, there were big wins, there were big losses, there was a close hustle between the teams to make it to the final and when India and Sri Lanka made it, they made sure it was a thriller. All in all, a good series. Sid Monga is getting the match report ready, but it will be all from the comms team. This is Abhishek Purohit and Devashish Fuloria signing off. More cricket coming up soon - Pak v WI. Till then, ciao ciao.

Presentation

MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli accept the winners trophy (after the presenter had forgotten about it).

MS Dhoni is the Man of the Match.

"I think I am blessed with a bit of good cricketing sense," says MS Dhoni. "15 players have been very good on the field and that is a good sign. The opposition bowler was not the most experienced in that last over unlike Malinga, so I thought i would take my chances. I went with a heavy bat, the weight was perfect for slogging."

Rohit Sharma gets an award for being the most trusted player. "I am really happy with the way we performed," he says. "The wicket was not easy to play shots, I wanted to delay my shots and wanted to stay as long as possible in the middle. (In the last over) We have seen Dhoni doing it over and over again, so it was not so much of a surprise."

Bhuvneshwar Kumar is the Player of the Series. He gets a quad-bike to rule the the mean streets of Meerut.

"It was a great game, the bowlers showed a lot of character to defend 200,"says Angelo Mathews. "Sanga and Thirimanne batted really well, but we lost momentum after that. Had we played till the end, we could have pushed it to 230-240 and that wuould have been enough. Herath bowled really well to bring us back into the game, but Dhoni is always a dangerous batsman. We played a good tournament throughout, didn't win the title, but the players showed a lot of character."


India have another ODI title and as has been the trend, it is Dhoni who plays the swashbuckler in the end. Sri Lanka had done everything right in the second innings. They kept their bowling water tight throughout the innings defending a middling total, but the pitch had enough in it to keep the bowlers interest. Then around the powerplay overs, they started carving through India's middle order and were in touching distance of that elusive title, but again, it was that man against them. He averaged over 80 against Sri Lanka in chases before the start of this match. It has gone a few steps over now. Sri Lanka's wait for a title continues. For India, was it not for a calm innings by Rohit at the start, the situation could have been far worse.

Joe: "What confidence and self belief MSD has, alwways back's himself.. Best finisher in ODI's.."

Aditya: "Not to undermine the great finisher, but he often gets more credit than the guys who built the base. In the WC final, given the situation, IMO Gambhir's innings was more crucial than Dhoni's. So is the case with Rohit's innings today."

Vigi: "Well, what do i have to say as a Sri Lankan fan. Dhoni and co break our hearts yet again. We may have lost again to the same side, but we showed resilliance. Well done boys!!!"

Vijay: "People are forgetting the recent history. This win won't have been possible without the magical innings of Rohit Sharma. There were two heroes today - Rohit in the early stage and MSD the finisher!..."

Himanshu Kumar: "No one will ever figure out the Pressure and Temperature at which "The Iceman" named Dhoni will melt ! :)" --- He doesn't believe in the Charles' law I guess.

Nikhil: "As we bow to the mad genius of Dhoni, spare a thought for Kohli. He slogged thru the tournament and got India to the final. He deserves a part of the glory."

Bharat: "The only major trophy left for MSD is to win the Ashes and it doesn't look beyond him :)"

Niel Johnson: "Dhoni needs to prove winning series in SA, England and Australia against the fast men, then we can hail them the best captain India has ever produced, till then he is just a best batsman for one day and 20-20 :)"


What manic hitting this is! He just needed three balls, just three. 6, 4, 6 and Sri Lanka watched that in horror and shock! The whole Indian team runs down the pitch, they know it's not a surprise, they have seen this man do this so many times..He was struggling to run throughout his innings and had India lost, the whole logic of him playing himself in the final while not being fit would have been questioned. He chose to give Vinay strike throughout those tricky overs, a decision that almost ended India's challenge. But.. like always, he has found a way to display more heroics. What a legend!

Anand: "Indeed a No 11's day. Ishant's achievement. He stayed not out hence the victory!"

Awais: "One of the setbacks of so many India vs Sri Lanka matches is that they have become so predictable in all situations. Just tuned on the tv in the last over and I said to my brother sitting next to me "Dhoni will finish it in 3 balls." Though he finished in 4."

Hemant: "What an unbelievable day of cricket we've had today!! First Agar's superb knock and now this match!"

DaGameChanger: "Dhoni is probably best cricketer since Gary sobers or better captain than Imran Khan and I have watched cricket since 28 years."

Apurba: "I remember a comment someone made during the Srilanka Innings that, Dhoni is doing a poor joob today as a captain and the wicketkeeper, but will he be the savior with the bat? Prophetic!"

Mazher Arshad: "21 runs (Dhoni and Ishant)- India's highest 10th wicket partnership in successful run chase. Previous best, 12 runs between Umesh Yadav and Varun Aaron against WI at Cuttack 2011."

49.4
6
Eranga to Dhoni, SIX runs

five needed! Dhoni does it again! Is there anything he can't do! He slaps the length delivery over extra cover for another six! India take the title with one wicket

49.3
4
Eranga to Dhoni, FOUR runs

and now he finds a boundary over point! Dhoni is awake, he was not sleeping, he was waiting for his moment. Length delivery, he opens the face of the bat as he goes after it, slices it over point...

49.2
6
Eranga to Dhoni, SIX runs

that has gone out of the ground! It was wide and full and in Dhoni's arc! He has sent this straight over the bowler's head and it hits the top of the roof... What a hit! Another couple and it's game over.. A wicket, and it's game over too

49.1
Eranga to Dhoni, no run

fuller delivery wide outside off, Dhoni swings his bat but he is nowhere near the ball..

15 to get off the last over, Dhoni orders a new bat now. Rayudu and Vijay have brought a whole stack..

end of over 492 runs
IND: 187/9CRR: 3.81 RRR: 15.00
Ishant Sharma2 (7b)
MS Dhoni29 (48b 4x4)
Angelo Mathews 10-1-38-1
Lasith Malinga 10-1-58-1

SSR: "Really there is something for 11th man today. Ishant Sharma already got lucky twice"

48.6
Angelo Mathews to Sharma, no run

length delivery outside off, Ishant lets it go through to the relief of Dhoni

Rajesh Arockiasamy: "India at this stage reminds me days of 90's when all indian batsmen used to visit back pavillion in rush and Sachin hold one edge and venkatapathi raju would test our patience from the other end. Not to tell about the result in those situations."

48.5
Angelo Mathews to Sharma, no run

angled delivery on the stumps, Ishant blocks it out towards square leg

48.4
2
Angelo Mathews to Sharma, 2 runs

he decides to go over the infield, but slices it over point and comes back for a tight couple

17 off 9 now...

Shrenik Mehta: "Great bowling from sri lanka.. all the bowler are going for the full quota.. also every one has bowled a maiden.."

48.3
Angelo Mathews to Sharma, no run

he tries to guide the short of length delivery down to third man, gets beaten

48.2
Angelo Mathews to Sharma, no run

length delivery on off, the batsman pushes it back down the pitch

Dhoni is livid at what Ishant is upto

48.1
Angelo Mathews to Sharma, no run

What is Ishant upto! This time he pushes it straight to cover, runs halfway down, then has to dive again to get back in...

end of over 482 runs
IND: 185/9CRR: 3.85 RRR: 8.50
MS Dhoni29 (48b 4x4)
Ishant Sharma0 (1b)
Lasith Malinga 10-1-58-1
Angelo Mathews 9-1-36-1
47.6
Malinga to Dhoni, no run

he pushes it straight to point, Ishant had run halfway down for the single which wasn't there. Dhoni had loudly said NO. Ishant turned back and had to dive to get in. Malinga was not near the stumps and the ball was not too far away ..

47.5
Malinga to Dhoni, no run

another length ball outside off, this time he guides it to third man, thinks about a single, then goes back to his crease

anirudh: "i can see the ball in stands"

47.4
2
Malinga to Dhoni, 2 runs

length delivery on the off stump line, Dhoni works it towards deep midwicket off the back foot and calls for a couple

47.3
Malinga to Dhoni, no run

short of length with a little bit of width, Dhoni cracks powerfully to deep cover, but turns down the single

47.2
Malinga to Dhoni, no run

another length delivery on off, Dhoni defends it to off

Abhi D: "That shot by Vinay Kumar was as ridiculous as was Dhoni's decision to let him face 5 balls !"

47.1
Malinga to Dhoni, no run

length delivery outside off, Dhoni wanted to punch it through cover, but gets an inside edge back down the pitch

19 off 18 now. One over to be bowled by Malinga, one by Eranga, one by Angelo. Malinga it is for this over.. Dhoni on strike

end of over 472 runs • 1 wicket
IND: 183/9CRR: 3.89 RRR: 6.33
Ishant Sharma0 (1b)
MS Dhoni27 (42b 4x4)
Angelo Mathews 9-1-36-1
Shaminda Eranga 9-2-34-2
46.6
Angelo Mathews to Sharma, no run

he gets a short of length ball on the body, defends it easily down the pitch

Ishant comes in to face one ball in this over

46.5
1
Angelo Mathews to Dhoni, 1 run

length delivery wide outside off, the batsman pushes it to cover and takes off for a single

Raam: "Why on earth would Vinay play that shot? touch the ball and get the heck out of the crease, that's what all required."

46.4
Angelo Mathews to Dhoni, no run

now a short of length delivery is hit straight to point off the back foot

46.3
Angelo Mathews to Dhoni, no run

length delivery outside off, Dhoni drive it on the up with a lot of power, beautifully fielded by the mid-off fielder. Had it passed him, that was a boundary

Ishant comes in, but Dhoni has the strike

46.2
W
Angelo Mathews to Vinay, OUT

caught at short third man! What a terrible shot to play at this stage! It was a shortish delivery outside off and Vinay chooses to send it to the stands, gets a thick edge and the ball balloons for the fielder at short third man to take an easy catch. When he got five balls in this over, was he planning to finish the match here itself? Absurd

Vinay Kumar c sub (SMSM Senanayake) b Mathews 5 (16b 0x4 0x6 25m) SR: 31.25

kapil patel: "Good tactic from SL by not giving over to Malinga so Dhoni will expose Vinay. Good tactic from Dhoni to allow more strike to Vinay against Eranga so he will be confident to face Malinga later."

Now five more balls for Vinay.. Weird

46.1
1
Angelo Mathews to Dhoni, 1 run

he goes on the back foot and works the length delivery from outside off to square leg, settles for a single

21 off 24 now..

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West Indies Tri-Nation Series

TEAMMWLPTNRR
IND422100.054
SL42290.348
WI4229-0.383