India begin year WIth (Shas)triumph

It was a 45-overs-a-side match. India made four changes to their playing eleven – while Ravi led the S(hastr)ide instead of Dilip Vengsarkar (who was replaced by Arun Lal), Anshuman Gaekwad, Manoj Prabhakar and Arshad Ayub made way for three One-day International debutants – the Sharmas (Sanjeev and Ajay) and Woorkeri Raman.

The West Indies made a couple of changes to their playing eleven – Phil Simmons and Roger Harper made way for Gordon Greenidge and Eldine Baptiste. On winning the toss, Shastri chose to bat. Krishnamachari Srikkanth, who faced eight balls, scored just (Duj)one. He was caught by Jeff. Courtney Walsh broke the two-run stand.

Lal scored 51. His 67-ball innings included five boundaries. He was caught by Greenidge. Carl Hooper broke the second-wicket partnership, which was worth 128. The third-wicket pair put on just a run. Mohinder Amarnath, whose 83-ball innings included nine boundaries, scored 70. He was run out. He was adjudged the player of the match.

Sanjeev, who faced four balls, didn’t get off the mark. He was caught by Richie Richardson. Vivian Richards, the West Indies’ skipper, broke the seven-run stand. Dev, who faced a Kapil of balls, scored a run. He was caught by Winston Benjamin. Richards broke the two-run stand.

The sixth-wicket pair put on 54. Mohammad Azharuddin, whose 57-ball innings included a couple of boundaries and the only six of the Indian innings, scored 44. He was run out. Shastri, who 29-ball innings included a boundary, scored 25. He was trapped leg before wicket by Patrick Patterson, who broke the 16-run stand.

The (Ra)man from Tamil Nadu faced 15 balls, scoring eight. He was unbeaten, as was Kiran More, who scored nine. His six-ball innings included a boundary. The West Indians conceded 13 extras. India conceded 222 for the loss of seven wickets off 45 overs. Benjamin and Baptiste bowled five wicketless overs apiece. While the former conceded 29, the latter conceded 23.

Hooper bowled eight overs, conceding 50. He picked up a scalp. Patterson and Walsh bowled nine overs each, picking up a wicket apiece. While the former conceded 36, the latter, whose spell conceded a couple of maidens, conceded 26. Richards, who bowled nine overs, conceded 48. He picked up a couple of scalps.

Desmond Haynes, who faced three balls, scored three. He was trapped leg before wicket by Dev, who broke the 12-run stand. The second-wicket partnership was worth 41. Richardson, whose 38-ball innings included three boundaries, scored 28. He was run out.

Richards, who faced 13 balls, scored three. He was caught by Lal. Maninder Singh broke the third-wicket stand, which was worth a dozen. Greenidge, whose 70-ball innings included three boundaries and the only six of the West Indian innings, scored 44. He was caught by Amarnath. Singh broke the 27-run stand.

Hooper, whose 40-ball innings included a couple of boundaries, scored 27. He was trapped leg before wicket by Dev, who broke the 60-run stand. Benjamin, who faced five balls, scored just a run. He was caught by Shastri, who broke the one-run stand.

The seventh-wicket pair didn’t get off the mark. Gus Logie, whose 55-ball innings included a couple of boundaries, scored 38. He was caught by Azharuddin off the bowling of Shastri. The eighth-wicket pair put on five. Dujon, who faced five balls, scored a couple. He was run out.

Baptiste, who faced eight balls, scored half-a-dozen. He was trapped leg before wicket by Amarnath, who broke the four-run stand. Walsh, who faced five balls, scored just a couple. He was caught by the substitute, Sanjeev broke the four-run stand. Patterson, who faced seven balls, scored three. He was unbeaten.

India conceded nine extras. The West Indies who were dismissed for 166 off 41.5 overs, lost by 56 runs. Ajay bowled a couple of wicketless overs, conceding 15. Amarnath, who bowled nine overs, conceded 46. He picked up a wicket, as did Sanjeev, who bowled 5.5 overs, conceding 29.

Dev bowled seven overs, including a maiden. He conceded 20, picking up a couple of wickets. Shastri and Singh bowled nine overs each, picking up a couple of scalps apiece. While the former, whose spell included a maiden, conceded 31, the latter conceded 19.

The West Indies led the seven-match series 2-1.