REUTERS
Chris Gayle of West Indies sweeps during his impressive 140. Gayle was later named man of the match.AHMEDABAD, CMC:
INDIA'S VAUNTED batting line-up engineered another remarkable run chase to defeat the West Indies by five wickets and level the seven-match limited-over series at 2-all.
Five months after they successfully chased 325 to defeat England in the final of the tri-nation series at Lord's, Saurav Ganguly's men did it again in even more emphatic fashion, winning with more than two overs to spare to
the undisguised delight of a capacity 50,000 crowd at the Sardar Patel Gujarat Stadium.
With extra security arrangements and better behaviour of the fans preventing a repetition of the disturbances that marred the previous three matches, there was nothing to detract from the run-filled spectacle as 649 runs flowed in ideal batting conditions.
Chris Gayle took the "Man of the Match" award for another spectacular assault on India's bowlers, racing to 140 off 127 deliveries in the tourists' total of 324 for four. Yet it was scant consolation for being on the losing end after such an individual effort. Ramnaresh Sarwan's consistent run in the series continued with another fine innings but he was left stranded on 99 when the overs ran out.
Whereas India relied on young stars Mohammad Kaif and Yuvraj Singh to pilot them to the famous triumph in London, the victory in Ahmedabad was due in the main to phlegmatic veterans, headed by the reboubtable Rahul Dravid.
Noted more for his monumental performances in Test matches, Dravid kept a cool head through an early assault from the West Indies opening bowlers, held firm when the middle order wobbled slightly and then joined Sanjay Bangar in the late charge that produced an unbroken sixth-wicket partnership of 94 in just nine overs.
He had the satisfaction of hitting the winning runs to finish on 109 while Bangar, remembered for his dour efforts in the Test series, exploded for 57 off 41 balls to provide the support and impetus that Dravid desperately needed.
There were moments of good fortune for the pair, none more so than when Bangar, having just arrived at the crease, was ruled not out by the local official when television replays confirmed a clear touch to wicketkeeper Ridley Jacobs off Vasbert Drakes. But the West Indies did not help their cause with indisciplined bowling, gifting the opposition with 21 runs and 21 extra deliveries from a combination of wides and no-balls.
Yet it looked so different for the visitors after the first few overs of the Indian chase under the brand new stadium lights.
After his stunning century in the aborted match in Rajkot, Virender Sehwag's vulnerability to the short ball was again exposed when he gloved a lifter from Mervyn Dillon in the first over of the innings to Carl Hooper at slip.
Saurav Ganguly launched a counter-attack but perished after reaching 28 off 16 balls, touching a delivery from Pedro Collins down the leg-side for Jacobs to take a good catch.
Dravid and VVS Laxman then provided much-needed stability to the Indian effort, Laxman capitalising on a missed chance to Gayle at first slip in contributing 66 to a 103-run partnership before he was run out at the bowler's end going for a suicidal single to substitute Ricardo Powell.
Yuvraj threatened great things before he chipped Dillon to Hooper at midwicket, and when Kaif skied an attempted pull off Drakes to Powell at mid-on, the West Indies had one hand on the match at 231 for five in the 38th over.
That it slipped from their grasp on the greasy, dew-soaked outfield had more to do with the determination of Dravid and Bangar than the conditions which certainly made fielding and bowling a tougher challenge.
There were no such problems earlier in the day when Gayle and Wavell Hinds set the tone for the West Indies innings in brilliant afternoon sunshine, blasting 80 by the ninth over when Hinds edged another full-blooded drive off Javagal Srinath to be caught at the wicket by Dravid. Samuels, stranded halfway down the pitch by his partner, twisted his left ankle trying to regain his ground and had to be helped off the pitch after being run out for just five.
Sarwan joined Gayle in a 148-run partnership, feeding the powerful Jamaican the strike and ensuring that the Indian fielders were never allowed to relax with intelligent and purposeful running between the wickets. Gayle's second hundred in three matches and third of his career came off 99 deliveries with nine fours and three sixes. He slowed considerably after the first fifty, but after reaching three figures seemed set to get closer to a first-ever double-century in a one-day international when he swung a Sehwag full toss to Murali Kartik at long-off.
Kartik and the other slow bowlers were the most effective for India with Harbhajan outstanding, the off-spinner taking the wicket of Shivnarine Chanderpaul and conceding just 30 runs off ten overs in the midst of the assault.
That assault was flagging as Hooper laboured with the troublesome knee that has ruled him out of the upcoming Bangladesh leg of the sub-continental tour. But he eventually found his touch as superb timing and excellent placement combined with Sarwan's flowing aggression to produce 66 runs in the last seven overs.
Needing seven runs off the final over to reach a first hundred in an international match for the West Indies, Sarwan seemed on course with an early boundary. However three were required off the final ball and his push through mid-on could only produce two, leaving him just short of the landmark.
As it proved, the total, formidable as it was, also fell short of pushing India beyond their considerable limits.
