Tony Becca
THE DIGICEL one-day series between West Indies and India is like one fairytale after another. Not only have the three matches to date been close - very close at that, but West Indies have been playing well and are out in front.
At the start of the series hardly anyone gave West Indies a chance - not, despite Zimbabwe, following their performances recently, and certainly not against India who are at number three in the LG ICC rankings.
With the first match ending in victory off the second-to-last delivery for India, the second off the third-to-last delivery with victory by one run for West Indies, and the third, again off the second-to-last delivery, with victory for the home team, however, after three matches, West Indies, the number eight ranked team in the world, lead the five-match contest and are in a wonderful position from which to win it.
CLOSE MATCHES
With only two matches to go, it is, for West Indies, any one from two, and although the matches have been so close that it could now have been three for India and none for West Indies or vice versa, the odds must favour the home team winning at least one and taking the series.
Looking at match number three in which India, after chipping along at 210 for three after 37 overs and seemingly set to post a score of over 300, lost six wickets 35 runs in 12.5 overs, it would appear that the visitors threw the match away.
That, however, was not the case - or at least not entirely so.
Although Mahendra Dhoni was careless and was caught napping when he was run out by bowler Chris Gayle at 210 for four after 37.1 overs, it was simply a case of some brilliant fielding by West Indies, some good captaincy by Brian Lara, and some good, accurate slow bowling by Marlon Samuels and Gayle.
And then when West Indies batted, Gayle, Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Ramnaresh Sarwan settled in, batted sensibly and confidently, and piloted them to victory.
So far, three of the home team's top four batsmen - Gayle, Sarwan and Chanderpaul - have delivered. Their bowling, but for Jerome Taylor and to an extent Fidel Edwards, has been fairly consistent .
BRILLIANT FIELDING
Their fielding, after the first match, has been brilliant, and if they can keep that up - if two or three of their top batsman continue to perform, if their bowlers continue to be fairly consistent in line and length, and if their fielders maintain their present form, there is no reason why West Indies should not win one of the two remaining matches starting tomorrow at Queen's Park Oval.
In fact, although it will not be easy -; not with Rahul Dravid, Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh, Mohammed Kaif, Suresh Raina and Dhoni, Ajit Agarkar, Irfan Pathan and Harbhajan Singh in India's line-up, the West Indies are probably now on such a cloud, they are probably bubbling with such confidence, and they probably now believe that they are once again the best in the world that they may win both matches - and comfortably at that.
