5 great West Indies bowling spells against India
From the fast and furious pace bowlers of the 70s to today’s T20 specialists, West Indies have always produced top class bowlers who have dominated international cricket through their tremendous skills and scintillating performances.
And unsurprisingly, some of the most memorable bowling performances of these West Indian bowlers have come against India, a team known for its strong batting strength. This battle between Caribbean bowlers and Indian batsmen has since ages fascinated cricket fans as fixtures between the two sides have resulted in the creation of some of the finest moments in the history of the game.
Here, we take a look at the top five bowling spells delivered by West Indies bowlers against India.
#5 Dwayne Bravo- 39/4 at Chennai in 2007
In a must-win game against India, West Indies were pushed to the corner as Indian batsmen took full advantage of a batting-friendly surface. After 37 overs India was at 237 for 4 with Sachin Tendulkar batting on 60.
But Dwayne Bravo rescued the visiting team with his smart and effective bowling. He sent back Tendulkar on the first ball of the 38th over and turned the game on its head. In the following three overs, the right arm medium pace bowler troubled Yuvraj Singh and Dinesh Karthik with his accuracy and subtle change of pace.
Both batsmen tried to break the shackles and were dismissed in the same over. On the fourth ball of the 42nd over, Yuvraj handed Bravo a simple catch in his follow through while Karthik edged the last ball of the over to the wicket keeper.
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Bravo then bowled economically in the death overs and prevented the Indian tailenders from causing any damage. He sent back Shanthakumaran Sreesanth in the 48th over to finish India’s innings at 269.
From 237 for 4 India slumped to 269 all out in the span of 66 balls. Bravo, during that phase, bowled 36 balls, picking up four wickets and conceding only 15 runs.
Later on, Marlon Samuels’ swashbuckling 98 and Brian Lara’s elegant 83 enabled West Indies to chase the target in 44 overs.