Kochi ODI: Samuels helps crisis-hit Windies thrash India by 124 runs

KochiWest Indies put behind an acrimoniouspay dispute with their board to spank number one ranked Indiaby a huge margin of 124 runs in the first onedayer to take a10 lead in the fivematch series here todayThe Caribbeans who were on the verge of boycotting theODI rode on Marlon Samuels careerbest equalling 126 not outto post 321 for six and then shot out the Indians for 197 in41 overs in a rather onesided contest at the Nehru StadiumMarlon Samuels reacts with joy after reaching the threefigure mark against India at Kochi during the 1st ODI on WednesdayIndia paid the price for some mediocre bowling and shoddybatting as they were outplayed by the crisishit visiting teamin all departments of the game to suffer a heavy defeatIndian bowlers gave away too many runs at the second partof West Indies innings to allow the visitors pile up a bigtotal after being put into bat and then the muchvaunted homebatsmen except for Shikhar Dhawan 68 failed to fire on abatting pitchMost of Indian batsmen were out on poor shot selectionand they could not stitch any substantial partnership in theface of some tight bowling by the visiting bowlers thehighest being the 49 in 84 overs for the opening wicketbetween Dhawan and Ajinkya Rahane 24Dhawans scratchy 68came from 92 balls with the help of nine foursRavindra Jadeja 33 not out was the other Indian batsmanwho scored more than 20 runsWest Indies even without their mystery spinner SunilNarine could tie down the top Indian batsmen who failed toget the runs when requiredChasing a huge target of 322 for a win India could notget to a good start as Rahane was run out in a bizarremixedup in the ninth over with just 49 on boardRahane tapped the length ball off Ravi Rampaul on thepads between short fine leg and square leg and after takingthe first run quickly he wanted a second and continued to runhard But Dhawan went back after taking a step and both foundthemselves at the keepers end and Rahane had to depart forthe dressing roomVirat Kohli 2 continued his struggle for form and evenon a batting pitch he could not do much and got dismissed thenext over after facing just five balls Kohli defended aJerome Taylor delivery which held its line on the backfootwith an angled bat and the outside edge flew to Sammy at wideslip for a low catchAmbati Rayudu 13 looked like he would settle down for apartnership with Dhawan but lasted just six overs before hewas out in the 16th overIndia were in a spot of bother when Rayudu was out at 82for three but the home sides chances of a win was dealt ablow after inform Suresh Raina was dismissed for a duck threeballs later off the bowling of Dwayne BravoRaina who hit a matchwinning unbeaten century forChennai Super Kings in Champions League Twenty20 final a fewdays ago got an inside edge which knocked off his bailsIndia were still in a chance till captain Mahendra SinghDhoni was at the crease but it was not the day for the MasterFinisher as he was bowled by Darren Sammy for anuncharacteristic eight runs from 21 ballsRuns dried up in the middle overs with the West Indiesbolwers spot on in their line and length and propped up bysome good fielding By the time Dhoni was out in the 26thover the asking rate had gone up to over eight with half ofthe batting line up cooling their heels at the dressing roomDhawan kept one end intact before he was out in the 29thover but after departed it was as good as over for IndiaJadeja stretched the end of the match along with the lowerorder as the Indians batted for the sake of formalities onlyFor West Indies Dwayne Bravo Ravi Rampaul and MarlonSamuels grabbed two wickets apiece while Jerome Taylor AndreRussell and Darren Sammy took a wicket eachEarlier Marlon Samuels struck a superb unbeaten century to fire the West Indies to an impressive 321 for six in 50 overs against India in the first ODI of their fivematch series at the Nehru Stadium here WednesdaySamuels struck a crafty 126 not out off 116 deliveries his sixth ODI hundred as West Indies batsmen plundered the Indian bowling after being put in by Mahendra Singh DhoniSamuels 116ball innings was studded with 11 fours and four sixes Denesh Ramdin also made 61 while Dwayne Smith scored 46 Recalled for the series against India after being dropped for the recent tour to Bangladesh Samuels scored freely and posted 165 for the fourth wicket with Ramdin who struck five fours and two sixes in his 59 ball inningsWest Indies started the innings with skipper Dwayne Bravo 17 promoting himself up the order to open with Smith But the move failed as the allrounder was dismissed in the 8th over with 34 runs on board after scoring just 17 runsHowever Smith and stylish lefthander Darren Bravo 28 added 64 for the second wicket to give the West Indies a stable start Smith struck four fours and two sixes during his 45ball stay but both the batsmen fell in quick succession to leave the West Indies at 120 for three in the 23rd overSamuels and Ramdin then took control of the innings to lead a Caribbean onslaught that left the Indian bowling unit look like a hapless lotFor India pacer Mohammed Shami was the pick of the bowlers bagging four for 66 from his nine overs while spinners Ravindra Jadeja and Amit Mishra picked up a wicket each Pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar was the most economical conceding 38 runs from his full quota of 10 overs