West Indies were on the verge of creating history while chasing down a massive target of 309 runs, as the Nicholas Pooran-led home side were on the verge of recording their highest successful ODI chase at the Queen's Park Oval. A 115-run second-wicket stand between Kyle Mayers and Shamarh Brooks, a 51-run stand between Mayers and Pooran, a 56-run stand between Akeal Hosein and Brandon King, and another half-century stand between Hosein and Romario Shepherd were enough to put the Windies in the driving seat, with India needing 15 runs to save in the final over.
But bowler Mohammed Siraj had different plans for the match. Siraj bowled the last over brilliantly, but it was wicketkeeper Sanju Samson who stood between victory and defeat for West Indies as India grabbed a narrow three-run victory in the thriller in Port of Spain on Friday, July 23.
In the third ball of the last over, Shepherd smashed his third boundary in the match through backward square. West Indies managed seven runs in the first four balls, with eight more required off the last two.
When Siraj saw Shepherd shuffling towards the leg side, he corrected his line and bowled down the leg side, but the ball went well wide of the batter and looked set to run away for a gifted four. The equation would have come down to three off the last ball. But wicketkeeper Samson was quick enough to follow the ball as he made a terrific diving effort towards his left to stop the extra run, hence saving India of conceding a boundary off a wide ball.
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“Sanju Samson’s stop was the difference in the end. 100% boundary. And that would’ve been Game for Windies," tweeted former India cricketer Aakash Chopra after the match.
With seven needed from the last two balls, Siraj kept his cool and conceded only three more runs as India scripted a thrilling win to kick off the ODI series with a 1-0 lead.
"There were nerves in the end and didn't expect it to turn that way. We kept our cool and one small change in the end where we pushed the fine leg back and that really helped us. The discussion was to use the bigger side as much as we can and we want to keep on learning and make ourselves better for the rest of the competition," said India captain Shikhar Dhawan, who was the Player of the Match for his brilliant 97 off 99.
Recap of the match
To recap, chasing a target of 309 runs, West Indies fell only three runs shy of the target, scoring only 305 runs in their stipulated 50 for the loss of six wickets. Kyle Mayers scored 75 runs for West Indies, and Brandon King also scored 54 runs. On the other hand, Mohammad Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal, and Shardul Thakur took two wickets each for India. It was an important win for India, who have now taken a 1-0 lead in the three-match ODI series.
The second match of the series will also be played in Port of Spain on Sunday, July 25. This will be the perfect chance for India to secure their second straight ODI victory, having beaten England the last time around.
