West Indies skipper Brian Lara turns the ball onto the legside during his top score of 69 in the fourth one-day international against India at Queen's Park Oval in Trinidad and Tobago yesterday. The West Indies won by six wickets to clinch the five-match series 3-1.- DELLMARPORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad (CMC):
BRIAN LARA hit 69 and Dwayne Bravo featured prominently with bat and ball to fire West Indies to a series-winning six-wicket victory over India in the fourth Digicel one-day international (ODI) at Queen's Park Oval yesterday.
All-rounder Bravo grabbed three wickets at the death and made an unbeaten 61 as West Indies, set a target of 218 from 50 overs, won with six overs to spare to take an unbeatable 3-1 series lead ahead of the final match tomorrow.
It was West Indies' first win since 2002 in a two-way series against opponents other than Zimbabwe and Bangladesh and it was achieved in front of a sold-out crowd.
After West Indies' bowlers contained India, they made light work of the target which was reached for the loss of four wickets off 44 overs.
Lara's 69 off 97 balls included eight fours and a six after emerging from a tentative start, but it was Bravo who grabbed the Man-of-the-Match award for his double efforts.
BEST SCORE
His career best score in his 42nd ODI came from 62 balls, contained three fours and a six, and his fourth-wicket partnership of 91 in 16.5 overs carried West Indies to victory.
Bravo and Lara came together at 91 for three in the 23rd over after Chris Gayle, who made 46 off 70 balls, gave a catch to deep long-off.
After Lara found his range, he played a number of lovely strokes, including two fours and a six over long-on off Harbhajan Singh before holing out to deep mid-off against off-spinner Ramesh Powar.
Bravo also took the attack to the India bowlers and scored at almost a run-a-ball for his first ODI half century.
Earlier, his medium-pacers, in support of tight bowling from Fidel Edwards and Marlon Samuels, helped to restrict India to 217 for six off 50 overs.
Yuvraj Singh and Mohammed Kaif hit half centuries and Mahenda Dhoni chipped in with an unbeaten 46 but India stuttered at the beginning and at the end.
India, sent in after West Indies won the toss for the first time in the series, slumped to 47 for three before they were pulled around by a fourth-wicket stand of 80 in 16.2 overs between Kaif and Yuvraj and fell away at the end when three wickets fell for 18.
Kaif, a consistent scorer throughout the series, made 62 off 82 balls, while Yuvraj, returning to the team after missing Tuesday's third match with back spasms, struck 52 off 78 balls.
EARLY PROBLEMS
India's early problems were caused by left-arm seamer Ian Bradshaw, who grabbed the wickets of Virender Sehwag and Rahul Dravid, and the visitors were pegged back in the middle by the tight off-spin of Samuels, whose 10 overs cost 37.
After Bradshaw had Sehwag (11) caught at extra-cover for 11 and Suresh Raina (7) held shoulder-high by Ramnaresh Sarwan at first slip, Corey Collymore removed captain Dravid with a good, low catch by Sarwan at second slip.
Yuvraj and Kaif steadied the innings before the former was caught at the wicket attempting to steer pacer Edwards to third-man, while the latter was bowled swinging at Bravo.
Bravo, who was relatively expensive in his five overs that cost 32 runs, also had the wickets of Irfan Pathan and Ajit Agarkar in the 49th over.
Dhoni, kept quiet at the beginning, hit six fours in his 58-ball knock that gave India useful runs.
Edwards gave up a miserly five runs from his four overs with the new ball and had only 19 runs taken from his eight overs, while Bradshaw finished with two for 41 from 10 overs.
The fifth and final match of the series will be played tomorrow at the same venue.
INDIA
V Sehwag c Gayle b Bradshaw 11
+R Dravid c Sarwan b Collymore 15
S Raina c Sarwan b Bradshaw 7
Yuvraj Singh c wkpr Baugh
b Edwards 52
M Kaif b Bravo 62
M Dhoni not out 46
I Pathan c Collymore b Bravo 8
A Agarkar b Bravo 0
R Powar not out 0
Extras (lb5, w9, nb2) 16
TOTAL (7 wkts, 50 overs) 217
Fall of wickets: 1-13, 2-29, 3-47, 4-127, 5-188, 6-206, 7-206.
Did not bat: Harbhajan Singh, S. Sreesanth.
Bowling: Edwards 8-1-19-1 (w1), Bradshaw 10-0-41-2 (w4, nb1), Collymore 9-2-49-1 (w3), Bravo 5-0-32-3 (w1), Gayle 6-0-28-0, Samuels 10-1-37-0, Smith 2-0-6-0.
WEST INDIES
C Gayle c Agarkar b Powar 46
M Samuels lbw b Pathan 9
R Sarwan c Sehwag b Agarkar 6
B Lara c Raina b Powar 69
D Bravo not out 61
W Hinds not out 13
Extras (lb5, w8, nb1) 14
TOTAL (4 wkts, 44 overs) 218
Fall of wickets: 1-28, 2-49, 3-91, 4-182.
Did not bat: D Smith, +C Baugh, I Bradshaw, F Edwards, C Collymore.
Bowling: Pathan 5-0-32-1 (w4, nb1), Sreesanth 9-1-39-0, Agarkar 8-1-24-1 (w1), Harbhajan Singh 10-1-42-0 (w1), Powar 9-0-56-2 (w1), Yuvraj Singh 2-0-10-0, Raina 1-0-10-0 (w1).
Toss: West Indies.
Result: West Indies won by six wickets with six overs remaining.
Man-of-the-Match: Dwayne Bravo.
Umpires: Simon Taufel, Billy Doctrove.
