Tony Becca, Contributing Editor
India's Suresh Raina strokes the ball comfortably into the off-side during his knock of 50 (retired hurt), while Jamaica's wicketkeeper Keith Hibbert (right) looks on during the one-day match at Jarrett Park yesterday. India won by 116 runs. - PHOTO BY ADRIAN FRATER
THE TOURING Indian cricketers tuned up for the opening match of the Digicel one-day series against the West Indies, starting at Sabina Park tomorrow, with a comfortable victory over a Jamaica X1 at Jarrett Park yesterday.
Batting first on a slow pitch and before a full house after winning the toss, the tourists - led by a solid 50 retired by Suresh Raina, an attractive 49 by Mohammed Kaif, and a quickfire 49 by Mahendra Dhoni - eased to 289 for seven off the allotted 50 overs.
They then brushed aside the Jamaicans for 173 in 45 overs, to win by 116 runs with five overs to spare.
On a bright and sunny day in the second city, the visitors, who stroked 24 fours and smashed five sixes, entertained the gathering with a lovely parade of strokeplay as their top five batsmen, plus Dhoni, all got going and enjoyed some good batting practice during their first match of the tour.
Virender Sehwag - opening the innings with captain Rahul Dravid and escaping at nine with the score on 39 in the sixth over when he hooked at Daren Powell and Danza Hyatt at square-leg failed to get to the ball - played some lovely strokes.
They included a hook for six off Powell, before the pacer sent him packing for 33 at 65 for one in the 12th over - the little man driving and edging a catch to wicketkeeper Keith Hibbert.
SPANKING DRIVE
Eleven runs later it was 76 for two when Dravid, who got the action under way with a spanking front-foot cover drive off pacer Jermaine Lawson, was leg before wicket to pacer Andrew Richardson for 31.
The left-handed Yuvraj Singh, playing defensively and following a delivery that left him off the pitch, edged Lawson to Hibbert and departed the scene for 18 at 114 for three in the 25th over.
Raina and Kaif stepped in with a partnership of 95 in 17 overs with Kaif stroking two fours and hitting one six before he swung at Richardson and was bowled at 209 for four in the 42nd over.
The left-handed Raina stroked three well-timed boundaries before he left the scene at the same total in the same over.
The star of the Indian batting, however, and especially as far as the school children who packed out the eastern stand were concerned, was Dhoni.
Batting at number seven and joining the action at the fall of Kaif, the team's wicketkeeper struck three fours and three sixes - including a straight hit off Powell that took off like a rocket and disappeared over the northern sightscreen - while scoring 45 off 22 deliveries.
However, he went at Powell again, missed and was bowled at 264 for six in the 48th over.
PROMISING START
With 18-year-old left-hander Damian Ebanks going back and smashing the first delivery of the innings from left-arm pacer Irfan Pathan to the cover boundary, going forward two overs later and driving pacer Munaf Patel to the long-off boundary, the Jamaicans got off to a promising start and were 33 without loss in the ninth over. But they skidded to 98 for six in the 32nd over, losing six wickets for 65 runs in 23 overs.
The first to go was Danza Hyatt for 10 at 33 for one - the batsman swinging at a short delivery from Pathan, the ball hitting the top edge, flying high and the bowler coming forward to take the simple catch.
BATSMAN OUT
The second was Donovan Pagon for four at 39 for two in the 10th over - the batsman going back to Patel and being caught off the glove by Dravid in the slips; and the third was Ebanks for 21 at 50 for three in the 15th over, hooking at Rudra Pratap Singh and the ball flying high to Harbhajan Singh inside the circle at backward square-leg.
After playing two lovely straight drives on either side of the wicket off Ajit Agarkar, captain Wavell Hinds was leg before wicket to the pacer for 12 at 71 for four in the 22nd over.
Donovan Sinclair chipped at spinner Yuvraj Singh and was caught by Agarkar at backward point for two at 84 for five in the 27th over.
When Tamar Lambert hit at offspinner Harbhajan Singh, mistimed the stroke and was caught by Harbhajan at mid-wicket for 33 at 98 for six in the 32nd over, it was all over bar the shouting and a few lusty hits by Powell and Bevon Brown, with Powell slamming two sixes and one four and Brown one six and two fours.
INDIA
V Sehwag c wkpr Hibbert b Powell 33
R Dravid lbw Richardson 31
S Raina retired out 50
Y Singh c wkpr Hibbert b Lawson 18
M Kaif b Richardson 49
V Rao not out 15
M S Dhoni b Powell 45
I Pathan c Lambert b Richardson 6
A Agarkar not out 12
Extras (b4, lb10, w13, nb3) 30
TOTAL (7 wkts, 50 overs) 289
Fall of wickets: 1-65, 2-76, 3-114, 4-209, 5-264, 6-273.
Bowling: Lawson 10-0-60-1, Powell 10-1-53-2, Richardson 9.3-0-47-3, Brown 10-0-45-0, Sinclair 6-0-29-0, Lambert 4-0-36-0, Hyatt 0.3-0-5-0.
JAMAICA
D Ebanks c H Singh b R Singh 21
D Hyatt c & b Pathan 10
D Pagon c Dravid b Patel 4
T Lambert c & b H Singh 33
W Hinds lbw b Agarkar 12
D Sinclair c Agarkar b Y Singh 2
D Morgan not out 19
K Hibbert lbw b H Singh 0
D Powell c Pathan b Sehwag 24
B Brown c wkpr Dhoni b Patel 22
J Lawson c Y Singh b Patel 6
Extras (b4, lb3, w13) 20
TOTAL (all out, 45 overs) 173
Fall of wickets: 1-33, 2-39, 3-50, 4-71, 5-84, 6-99, 7-103, 8-133, 9-162, 10-173.
Bowling: Pathan 6-2-23-1, Patel 9-2-33-3, Rudra Pratap Singh 6-2-18-1, Y Singh 4-0-7-0, R Singh 5-0-14-1, Sehwag 4-1-22-1, Raina 3-0-14-0, Rao 2-0-17-0.
Result: India won by 116 runs.
Toss: India.
Umpires: Norman Malcolm, Cecil Fletcher.
