The Indians (Tendulk)are the (Ki)winners

India were playing New Zealand for the first time since the latter toured India in 1995. The team led by Sachin Tendulkar made four changes to the (No)eleven that lost the fourth One-dayer in the Caribbean – Mohammad Azharuddin, Saba Karim and David made way for Vinod Kambli, Nayan Mongia and Sunil Joshi.

The Kiwis made seven changes to the eleven that last played the Indians – Mark Greatbatch, Roger Twose, Shane Thomson, Lee Germon, Dion Nash, Simon Doull and Danny Morrison made way for Bryan Young, Matt Horne, the two Chrises (Cairns and Harris), Dipak Patel, Andrew Penn and Heath Davis.

Stephen Fleming, the New Zealand captain, chose to bat on winning the toss. Young, whose 27-ball innings included a boundary, scored 17. He was caught by Anil Kumble. Joshi broke the 59-run stand.

The second-wicket pair put on 50. Horne, whose 31-ball innings included three boundaries, scored 23. Joshi and Mongia ran him out. The third-wicket pair put on 27. Fleming, whose 22-ball (Rob)innings included a boundary, scored 23. Joshi and Singh ran him out.

Cairns, who faced half-a-dozen balls, scored just three. He was trapped leg before wicket by Singh, who broke the 11-run stand. Nathan Astle, whose 111-ball innings included 10 boundaries, scored 92. Needless to say, Singh was in seventh heaven.

Harris, who faced a dozen balls, scored just three. He was caught by the (Kumb)leggie, who broke the sixth-wicket stand, which was worth a dozen. The seventh-wicket pair put on 19. Patel, who faced 16 balls, scored 10. Kambli and Kumble ran him out.

Larsen, whose 16-ball (Gav)innings included a boundary, scored a dozen. Joshi broke the 24-run stand. The ninth-wicket pair put on 10. Adam Parore, who faced 57 balls, scored 32. Tendulkar ran him out.

Although he was unbeaten, Penn, who faced five balls, wasn’t in seventh heaven. Davis, who played him last limited-overs international match, didn’t face a ball. He was unbeaten. India conceded eight extras. The Kiwis scored 220 for the loss of nine wickets off 50 overs.

Abey Kuruvilla bowled half-a-dozen wicketless overs, including a maiden. He conceded 37. Tendulkar, who bowled seven wicketless overs, conceded 35. Venkatesh Prasad, who bowled 10 wicketless overs, conceded 40.

Kumble bowled 10 overs, including a maiden. He conceded 30, picking up a wicket. Singh, who bowled seven overs, conceded 27. He picked up a couple of scalps, as did Joshi, who bowled 10 overs. He conceded 47.

Sourav Ganguly, whose 87-ball innings included eight boundaries and a six, scored 62. He was caught by Parore. Larsen broke the 169-run stand. Tendulkar, the player of the match, scored 117. His 137-ball innings included 13 boundaries and a couple of sixes. Astle broke the 47-run stand.

Rahul Dravid, whose 31-ball innings included three boundaries, scored 21. He was unbeaten, as was Kambli, who faced four balls, scoring as many. His run came by way of a boundary. New Zealand conceded 17 extras. India scored 221 for the loss of a couple of wickets off 42.3 overs, winning by eight wickets with 45 balls to spare.

Davis, whose middle name is Te-Ihi-O-Te-Rangi, bowled five wicketless overs, conceding 54. The highlight of that unremarkable spell was a wide four he bowled off the first ball of the 27^th over.

Harris bowled seven wicketless overs, including a maiden. He conceded 26. The second ball of the 13^th over, bowled by him, was a wide, which the wicketkeeper missed. The batsmen ran a couple, but the Indian skipper was declared one short by the Australian umpire David Orchard.

Patel bowled seven overs, conceding 30. He was wicketless, as was Penn, who bowled 8.3 overs, conceding 59. Astle, who bowled seven overs, conceded 25. He picked up a wicket, as did Larsen, who bowled eight overs, including a couple of maidens. He conceded 26. At the end of the 36^th over of India’s innings, Craig McMillan came in to substitute for Larsen.  

The West Indians T(endulka)rounce India

Neither team made any changes to its playing eleven. Courtney Walsh, the West Indies skipper, won the toss, inserting the Indians, whose openers put on just four. Sourav Ganguly, who faced five balls, scored four. His runs came by way of a boundary. He was dismissed by Curtly Ambrose.

Sachin Tendulkar, India’s skipper, faced 11 balls, scoring just a run. He was caught by Brian Lara (who had, incidentally, turned 28 the previous day). Walsh broke the second-wicket stand, which was worth just a couple.

Rahul Dravid, whose 61-ball innings included four boundaries, scored 30. He was caught by Shivnarine Chanderpaul, who didn’t just bag the player of the match, but also the player of the series awards. Franklyn Rose broke the 56-run stand.

Mohammad Azharuddin, whose 93-ball innings included three boundaries, scored 40. He was caught by Courtney Browne. Chanderpaul broke the 31-run stand. Singh, whose 56-ball (Rob)innings included a boundary, scored 29. He was caught by the substitute (Leon Garrick). Ottis Gibson broke the 75-run stand.

Ajay Jadeja, whose 78-ball innings included four boundaries, scored 68. Walsh broke the 19-run stand. The seventh-wicket pair had no reason to be in seventh heaven. Karim, whose 18-(Sa)ball innings included a boundary, scored 14. Walsh and Browne ran him out.

Anil Kumble, whose six-ball innings included a boundary, scored eight. He was unbeaten, as was Noel David, who faced a couple of balls, scoring a run. The West Indians conceded four extras. India scored 199 for the loss of seven wickets off 50 overs. Hooper bowled five wicketless overs, inC(ar)luding a maiden. He conceded 23.

Gibson and Chanderpaul bowled eight overs each, picking up a wicket apiece. While the former conceded 48, the latter conceded 36. Ambrose and Rose bowled 10 overs, including a maiden, each, picking up a wicket apiece. While the former conceded 33, the latter conceded 32. Walsh bowled nine overs, including three maidens. He conceded 26, picking up a couple of scalps.

Stuart Williams, whose 137-ball innings included 10 boundaries, scored 78. He was unbeaten, as was Chaderpaul, who scored 109. His 134-ball innings included 15 boundaries and the only six of the match.

India conceded 13 extras. The West Indies notched up 200 without the loss of a wicket off 44.4 overs, winning by 10 wickets with 32 balls to spare. Singh, who bowled a couple of overs, wasn’t in seventh heaven. Jadeja, who bowled 2.4 overs, conceded half-a-dozen. Ganguly, who bowled four overs, conceded 25.

Tendulkar, who bowled five overs, conceded 22. David, who bowled half-a-dozen overs, conceded 38. Abey Kuruvilla bowled six overs, including a couple of maidens. He conceded 15. Venkatesh Prasad, who bowled nine overs, conceded 45. Kumble bowled 10 overs, including a couple of maidens. He conceded 33.

The West Indians won the four-match series 3-1.    

India T(endulka)rail; The islanders WIn

India made just change to their playing eleven – Navjot Singh Sidhu made way for Robin Singh. The West Indies made one change to theirs as well – Ian Bishop made way for Ottis Gibson.

On winning the toss, Tendulkar, India’s skipper, (Sach)inserted the hosts, whose openers put on 11. Shivnarine Chanderpaul, who faced 24 balls, scored just five. He was trapped leg before wicket by Abey Kuruvilla.

Brian Lara ne 33 maara. His 38-ball innings included five boundaries. But it was Singh, who was born in Princes Town, who won the battle of the Trinidadians*, breaking the 60-run stand.

Jimmy Adams, who faced 14 balls, scored nine. He was caught by Rahul Dravid. David had a reason to be (No)elated – he broke the 15-run stand. Stuart Williams, the player of the match, scored 76. His 110-ball innings included half-a-dozen boundaries and a six. He was caught by Singh. Tendulkar broke the 84-run stand.

Carl Hooper, whose 69-ball innings included a boundary and a six, scored 48. He was caught by Anil Kumble, who broke the 23-run stand. The sixth-wicket pair put on four. Gibson faced three balls, scoring as many. Tendulkar ran him out.

Roland Holder, who faced 17 balls, scored 16. He was caught by Saba Karim. Venkatesh Prasad broke the 17-run stand. Curtly Ambrose, whose 16-ball innings included a boundary, scored 13. Prasad broke the 14-run stand.

Courtney Browne, whose eight-ball innings included a boundary, scored 10. He was unbeaten. The ninth-wicket pair put on 20. Franklyn Rose, who faced six balls, scored nine. Ajay Jadeja ran him out. Browne’s namesake (and the West Indies’ skipper), Courtney Walsh, faced three balls, but didn’t get off the mark. He was unbeaten.

India conceded 27 extras. The West Indies scored 249 for the loss of nine wickets off 50 overs. Tendulkar, who bowled three overs, conceded 13. He picked up a wicket, as did Singh, who bowled seven overs, conceding 46.

Kumble and David bowled 10 overs, including a maiden, each, picking up a wicket apiece. While the former conceded 46, the latter conceded 38. Kuruvilla bowled 10 overs, including a couple of maidens. He conceded 34. Prasad, who bowled 10 overs, conceded 53. He picked up a couple of scalps.

Tendulkar, whose 15-ball innings included a boundary, scored nine. Walsh broke the 27-run stand. Dravid, whose 105-ball innings included half-a-dozen boundaries, scored 74. Gibson broke the 130-run stand.

Sourav Ganguly, whose 105-ball innings included five boundaries, scored 79. He was caught by Ambrose. Rose broke the 28-run stand. Jadeja, whose six-ball innings included a boundary, scored nine. Gibson broke the 16-run stand.

Singh, who faced 11 balls, scored just four. He was caught by Adams. Ambrose broke the 13-run stand. Mohammad Azharuddin, whose 37-ball innings included a couple of boundaries, scored 24. He was caught by Hooper. Gibson broke the three-run stand.

The seventh-wicket pair put on just a couple. Kumble, who faced a ball, didn’t get off the mark. Browne ran him out. David, who faced eight balls, scored as many. He was unbeaten. Karim, who faced half-a-dozen balls, scored as many. He was caught by Lara. Gibson broke the five-run stand.

The ninth-wicket pair put on half-a-dozen. Kuruvilla, whose first name is something one in Mumbai – the city he represented in domestic cricket – would yell (exasperatedly), deserved it – he didn’t face a ball, and Adams ran him out.

The last-wicket pair put on just one. Prasad, who faced a ball, didn’t get off the mark. Browne ran him out. The West Indians conceded 18 extras. India, who were dismissed for 231 off 48.2 overs, lost by 18 runs.

Adams, who bowled four overs, conceded 22. He was wicketless, as was Hooper, who bowled eight overs, conceding 36.

Rose bowled eight overs, conceded 41. He picked up a wicket, as did Ambrose (who conceded 34 off nine overs, which included a maiden) and Walsh (who conceded 26 off 9.2 overs, which included a couple of maidens). Gibson, who bowled 10 overs, conceded 61. He picked up four scalps.

The islanders led the four-match series 2-1.

(*Note: Lara was born in Santa Cruz.)