5 memorable ODI batting efforts by India against West Indies at home
Team India are currently gearing up for the white-ball series against West Indies, which will begin with the first ODI in Ahmedabad on February 6. The hosts’ preparations have been hit with COVID-19 cases emerging in the camp. Shikhar Dhawan, Shreyas Iyer and Ruturaj Gaikwad have tested positive and are in isolation, while Mayank Agarwal and Ishan Kishan have been added to the squad.
West Indies will go into the one-dayers having defeated England 3-2 in a closely-contested T20I series at home. If we look at the head-to-head record between India and the Windies, the Men in Blue have won 64 ODIs while the Caribbean side have been victorious in 63. In India as well, the win-loss ratio is pretty similar. India have won 29 of 58 games and West Indies 28.
Top ODI batting performances by Men in Blue against West Indies in India
As India and West Indies gear up to face each other in the ODI series, we look back at five wonderful batting efforts by the Men in Blue against the Windies at home.
#5 Shikhar Dhawan (119) - Kanpur, November 2013
Opener Shikhar Dhawan scored a fluent 119 off 95 balls as India chased down 264 in an ODI against West Indies in Kanpur in November 2013. The hosts won the toss and fielded first in the third ODI of the five-match series. The Indian bowlers did a good job to restrict the Windies to 263 for 5 despite 70s from Kieran Powell and Marlon Samuels.
Dhawan then anchored the chase as the Men in Blue got home by five wickets with 23 balls to spare. He struck 20 fours in his knock as the West Indies bowlers failed to build any sort of pressure on the left-hander. He raced away with a flurry of boundaries, hitting Jason Holder for three fours in the second over and two more in his next.
Even as India lost a couple of wickets. Dhawan brought up a defiant half-century off 43 balls. He kept piercing the gaps to find the boundaries, and as a result the run rate was never an issue. The southpaw reached a well-deserved century by edging Sunil Narine past slip for another four. He fell to Dwayne Bravo for 119, but had put India on the path to victory.
#4 Rahul Dravid (109*) - Ahmedabad, November 2002
Current Team India coach Rahul Dravid anchored a 325-run chase in Ahmedabad in November 2002 as the hosts registered a thrilling five-wicket win over West Indies. The visitors posted 324 for 4 as Chris Gayle slammed 140 and Ramnaresh Sarwan 99*. Dravid, however, remained unbeaten on 109 from 124 balls, hitting eight fours, as India pulled off a memorable triumph. It was a typical Dravid knock as he occupied the crease for 201 minutes and wore down the opponents.
After India lost Virender Sehwag (4) and Sourav Ganguly (28) without too many on the board, Dravid and VVS Laxman (66) steadied the ship with a 103-run stand for the third wicket. Even as Laxman came in and started finding the boundaries, Dravid was content playing second fiddle. He reached a patient fifty off 73 balls. With Laxman getting run out at the other end, Dravid needed to stay till the end and he did.
"The Wall" then found an unexpected partner in Sanjay Bangar (57*) as the duo lifted the Men in Blue home in 47.4 overs. He reached a hard-fought hundred off 119 balls with a couple off Carl Hooper. Bangar hit some key boundaries to ensure Dravid’s knock did not go in vain.