Ravi Shastri in starrisig role

Press, 4 January 1988, Page 13

Ravi Shastri in starrisig role

By

MOSES MANOHARAN

NZPA-Reuter Calcutta Ravi Shastri shone in his assumed role as Indian captain by leading his team to its first oneday international victory at home over West Indies on Saturday. India, with a 55-run triumph in the third oneday international, reduced the West Indies’ lead in the eight-match series to 2-1. India made 222 for seven in 45 overs and West Indies replied with 167 in 41.5 overs. India now have four wins to West Indies’ 13 in one-day internationals between the two sides.

Shastri, temporary replacement for the injured Dilip Vengsarkar, inspired his side in front of nearly 85,000 fans with a superb display of left-arm spin bowling which earned him figures of 9,1, 31, 2 on a placid-looking pitch at the Eden Gardens. Shastri used the medium pacers, Kapil Dev and Sanjeev Sharma, in an excellent spell of seam bowling before turning to spin. Desmond Haynes was trapped leg before by Kapil Dev and Sharma was equally effective, worrying Gordon Greenidge and Richie Richardson with his late swinging deliveries.

But Greenidge coped with the slow bowling of Maninder Singh to score 44, with three fours and one six. Richardson made 28 before he was run out.

Maninder, who conceded only 19 runs in nine overs, had the captain, Viv Richards, caught by Arun Lal for three in the eighteenth over and the touring team fell deeper into trouble at 92 for four when Maninder- forced Greenidge into spooning a catch to Mohinder Amarnath at mid-on. Carl Hooper and Gus Logie raised West Indies’ hopes with a 66-run partnership before Kapil Dev beat Hooper to gain an l.b.w. decision. His dismissal sparked a collapse which saw the last six wickets go down for only 15 runs. India’s total owed much to a second-wicket century stand between Arun Lal and Mohinder Amarnath. They put- on 128 after Krishnamachari Srikkanth had lost his wicket to the eleventh ball of the match. Amarnath made 70 before being run out and Lal 51. The Indian innings looked like disintegrating when four wickets crashed for the addition of only 10 runs but , Mohammed Azharuddin and Shastri stopped the rot by adding 54 for the

sixth wicket. Azharuddin made 44 from 57 balls before becoming another run-out victim and Shastri scored 25. INDIA K. Srikkanth c Dujon b Walsh 1 Arun Lal c Greenidge b Hooper 51 M. Amarnath run out ... 70 S. Sharma c Richardson b Richards 0 M. Azharuddin run out. . . 44 K. Dev c Benjamin b Richards 1 R. Shastri lbw b Patterson 25 W. Raman not out 8 K. More not out 9 Extras (IblO, w2, nbl)... 13 Total (for 7 wkts) 222 Fall: 2, 130, 131, 138, 140, 194, 210. ■ Bowling: P. Patterson 9,0, 36, 1; C. Walsh 9,2, 26, 1; A. Baptiste 5,0, 23, 0; W. Benjamin 5,0, 29, 0; V. Richards 9,0, 48, 2; C. Hooper 8,0, 50, 1. WEST INDIES G. Greenidge c Amarnath b Maninder Singh 44 D. Haynes lbw b Kapil Dev 3 R. Richardson run out. . . 28 V. Richards c Lal b Maninder Singh 3 G. Logie c Azharuddin b Shastri 39 C. Hooper lbw b Kapil Dev. 27 W. Benjamin c and b Shastri 1 J. Dujon run out 2 E. Baptiste lbw b Amarnath 6 P. Patterson not out ... . 3 C. Walsh c sub b S. Sharma 2 Extras (lb 6 w2, nbl). ... 9 Total (41.5 overs) 167 Fall 12, 53, 65, 92, 152, 153, 153, 158, 162. Bowling: Kapil Dev 7,1, 20, 2; S. Sharma 5.5, 0, 29, 1; Amarnath 9,0, 46, 1; Shastri 9,1, 31, 2; Maninder Singh 9,0, 19, 2; A. Sharma 2,0, 16, 0. India won by 55 runs.