Tony Becca
THE THIRD match in the five-match Digicel one-day series between West Indies and India takes place today and, after the thrilling, nail-biting finishes in Kingston on Thursday and Saturday which left the contest tied at one-one, cricket fans in St. Kitts and all around the region must be looking forward to it with bated breath.
On Thursday, India entered the last over of the match needing four runs to win and it was not until the fifth delivery that they won the match when Mohammed Kaif drove pacer Dwayne Bravo to the extra-cover boundary.
On Saturday, India entered the last over of the match needing 11 runs to win and, after picking up nine runs off the first three deliveries and needing only one run to tie and only two runs to win off three deliveries, they lost by one run when Bravo bowled Yuvraj Singh with the fourth delivery.
LIKE A FAIRY TALE
With one match ending with only one delivery to spare, with the other ending with only one run and two deliveries to spare, with India winning one and West Indies winning the other, it was almost like a fairy tale and especially so for West Indian fans who were in seventh heaven on Saturday evening.
With India at number three and their beloved West Indies at number eight in the LG ICC rankings, not many West Indians gave the West Indies a chance to win a match, much more the series.
And, and although they were competitive from start to finish, after they lost the first match, there were fewer of them who believed that West Indies would even win one.
Although the first match was so close, even though West Indies, but for some poor fielding could have won, the consensus was that West Indies had got a chance, they had muffed it and they would pay for it.
To their credit, however, West Indies came back in match number two and, although they did not bat as well as they did in the first game, they bowled much better, they fielded much better, this time they won a match they could also have lost and every West Indian was happy.
The score, which could have been two-nil for India or two-nil for West Indies, is one-all, the contest is nicely balanced and as far as the fans are concerned, number three or number eight does not matter.
To them, this is West Indies versus India, this is West Indies led by Brian Lara and the next three matches will be just as close with the West Indies in with a good chance of coming out on top.
COULD HAVE BEEN DIFFERENT
But for one delivery, however, but for one ball, it probably would have been a different story.
With Bravo conceding 20 runs in his three overs and with one like Fidel Edwards conceding only 19 in his seven overs, when Lara handed the ball to Bravo to bowl the last over there were many dissenting voices and when, with 11 runs to win, Munaf Singh picked up a single off the first delivery and Yuvraj Singh blasted the second and third for boundaries, Lara was under fire.
Bravo, the bowler driven for four off the fifth deliver of the last over on Thursday, bowled Yuvraj with the fourth delivery, however, and instead of swearing and cursing, the fans erupted in ecstasy as West Indies squeezed home in another close contest.
Thanks to one delivery, West Indies, who, following Thursday's disappointment, could have been two down, were one-one and Lara, who would have been public enemy number one had the West Indies lost two close encounters but more so the second, was the toast of Sabina Park.
It just goes to show that especially in one-day cricket, it is not over until it is over and that one delivery - one ball - can make a difference.
