India survive batting wobble to beat West Indies

Port of Spain: Putting up a splendid all round show, India scored a comfortable 16-run win over the West Indies in the one-off Twenty20 international to begin their Caribbean tour on a resounding note in Port of Spain on Saturday. It is India’s first win over the West Indies in T20 format as they had lost the previous two encounters at Lord’s and Kensington Oval. After being invited to bat on a tricky Sabina Park Oval strip India recovered from a top-order collapse to post a competitive 159 for six and then restricted the hosts to 143 for five. Host skipper Darren Sammy had asked second-string India to bat under helpful conditions for the pacers and he himself did all the damage with four wickets as the visiting batsmen struggled to adjust to the bounce of the pitch. [caption id=“attachment_20500” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Indian captain Suresh Raina (C) celebrates with Subramaniam Badrinath (L) and Rohit Sharma at the end of the T20 game between West Indies and India. AFP/Emmanuel Dunand”]  [/caption] India owed their recovery to top-scorer S Badrinath (43) and Rohit Sharma (26) as they combined for a 71-run stand for the fifth wicket after the visitors were reeling at 56 for four inside nine overs. Yusuf Pathan (15 off 6) and Harbhajan Singh (15 off 7) hit some lusty shots towards the end to help India cross the 150-run mark. Indian bowlers then complimented the good batting effort from the middle-order with a disciplined performance. Harbhajan Singh (2/25) took two wickets while Praveen Kumar (1/27), R Ashwin (1/30) and Munaf Patel (1/35) contributed in the win with a wicket apiece. For the West Indies, Darren Bravo hit a-run-a-ball 41 and Christopher Barnwell sparkled with a 16-ball unbeaten 34 but that only reduced the defeat margin for the hosts. PTI