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India v West Indies, World Cup 2011, Group B, Chennai

Smith fifty puts West Indies on course

The Bulletin by Sidharth Monga

March 20, 2011

Devon Smith

Devon Smith, playing perhaps the best innings of his young career, put West Indies right on track for the chase of 268 on a surface that seems to be playing better than the earlier Chennai pitches, but is still not the ideal batting strip. What makes Smith's knock better is that West Indies didn't have the services of Chris Gayle, who sat out with an abdominal strain.

Smith and Darren Bravo played the odd flashy shot, but they relied almost entirely on exposing the ordinary fielding side that India is, often taking singles straight to the fielders inside the ring and twos after hitting straight to the deep fielders. There was no sense of rush or panic that characterised West Indies' effort in a much smaller chase against England. To keep India in the game, though, World Cup debutant Suresh Raina picked up a wicket with a long hop to send Bravo back.

Another World Cup debutant, R Ashwin, was responsible for India's first wicket. Picked at long last, Ashwin was in play in the first over, and in his fourth he trapped the dangerous-looking debutant Kirk Edwards lbw with a carrom ball. Smith, at the other end, was playing a perfect innings for a middling chase, unleashing his trademark lethal square cut at Zaheer Khan, Harbhajan Singh, Raina and Yusuf Pathan, and taking the ones and twos regularly. The straight drive off a Zaheer half-volley stood out in his effort.

The first ball Harbhajan bowled in the sixth over turned and bounced, but somehow he went back to bowling flat and short, and proved to be a big disappointment for India. His four overs went for 23 as West Indies found cruise mode, and MS Dhoni turned to the part-timers. Raina's introduction produced a wicket as Bravo pulled him straight down long-on's lap. Smith kept going strong still, cutting Raina for only his fifth boundary and moving to 49 in the 19th over. The fifty came up in the same over, and soon came a big six off Yuvraj Singh out of nowhere. The ease with which Smith played the spinners made one wonder why there had been only three overs of pace in the first 25 overs. At the halfway mark, with the partnership between Smith and Ramnaresh Sarwan having reached 41 off 47, West Indies were on track.

50 overs India 268 (Yuvraj 113, Kohli 59, Rampaul 5-51) v West Indies