India vs West Indies, 4th ODI: Who Said What
In a highly one-sided affair at Brabourne, India proved too good for the Windies as they went about their business with ease. After winning the toss, hosts posted a huge total to rule out the opposition only after the first innings of the match.
After a steady start at the top order, Indian batting came to the fore to decimate Windies during their ballistic effort. Riding on the back of tons by Rohit Sharma and Ambati Rayudu, home team saw Windies with a mountainous task in hand. The duo's 4th-wicket partnership of over 200 runs propelled the men in blue to a mammoth 377 on their fifty overs.
In reply, Windies were no match for the Virat-led side as they got bundled out for a paltry score of 153 runs. The batting unit put up a disappointing show with the bat and made it tough for the others to follow. In the end, India took an important lead in the series by registering an astounding win by 224 runs as they go 2-1 up before heading to Thiruvananthapuram for the final ODI of the series.
Here's a look at some of the reactions after India's astonishing win over West Indies:
Virat Kohli, India captain: Yes, ticked all the boxes. Clinical games in all departments. Got into a rhythm. We are known to bounce back and it was another example. Rayudu has taken his chance with both hands. We need to back him till the 2019 WC. He reads the game well, so we are happy that someone intelligent is batting at number four. Khaleel was good with pitching it in the right areas, making the ball talk, and swinging it both ways.
Rohit Sharma, Man of the Match: I've been doing some slip-catching for a while. I can hear Virat laugh there. Good to get some catches, and it is important to hold those catches. Especially if you're fielding in the slips for Kuldeep, it isn't easy to read his hands. It is important to know when he was going to bowl that googly and it's important to be ready for it. Very clinical right from the start. After losing two wickets, I had mentioned about having a big partnership and that was a game-changing one. These partnerships help us stay in the game for longer and get big totals. Rayudu and I did that in the middle. Heartening to see the way we bowled. It was a long time coming, this kind of performance from the bowlers. The spinners were spinning it, the pacers were swinging it, so all is well.
Jason Holder, WI captain: We didn't play well enough today. We allowed them to score too many. Lost wickets up front, and didn't bat well enough. Didn't get enough momentum. You try not to get run-out, you try to build a partnership up front, and that didn't happen. We had to do a lot to rebuild, but that never happened.
Khaleel Ahmed: It was there in my mind that there would be some moisture in the wicket given that we would bowl under lights and I would try to swing it. Once I got my line, I tried to persist with it. I am working on my bowling with Bharat Arun sir since I have been with the Indian team. I have been practicing a lot and implemented it today. I was bringing it into him (Samuels) and then all of a sudden I bowled the out-swinger to trap him. I appeal sometimes out of excitement and also feel that I am having the batsman under pressure.
Twitter Reactions:
Sachin Tendulkar
Virender Sehwag
Boria Majumdar
Gaurav Kapur
ICC
Harsha Bhogle
Mohandas Menon
VVS Laxman
Mohammad Kaif
Harbhajan Singh
Aakash Chopra
Rajneesh Gupta
Umang Pabari