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BASSETERRE (St Kitts), May 23: Belligerent batting by Virender Sehwag gave India hope of a huge total in the third One-day International on Tuesday before the West Indies bowlers struck back. Sehwag was dismissed for 96 to restrict India, who won the toss and chose to bat, to 246 for nine after they were 174 for two in the 29th over.
India lost their last five wickets for 35 runs. The five-match series stands at 1-1.
Opener Sehwag smashed his runs in 83 balls, and hit nine fours and three sixes. Mohammad Kaif's more measured 63 off 89 balls with two fours was the Indians' only other noteworthy innings.
West Indies started well when left-arm fast bowler Ian Bradshaw trapped Rahul Dravid in front for a duck with the last ball of the first over.
Sehwag took little heed of the setback. He blasted the next delivery bowled by fast bowler Fidel Edwards over the cover field for four.
Sehwag hit his first six in the seventh over, when he put Bradshaw over the backward point boundary. He was particularly aggressive in the 14th over when he cut, hooked and late cut fours off Taylor to reach his half-century off 43 balls.
Samuels, Edwards and medium pacer Dwayne Bravo managed to stem the flow of boundaries for the next six overs, a period of relative calm that was ended when Sehwag heaved Bravo over long-on for six in the 25th over.
The West Indians finally rid themselves of Sehwag in the 29th over when Bravo trapped him in front with a swinging yorker that hit the batsman on the boot on the full.
That ended a third-wicket stand of 112 in which Kaif scored just 37.
Sehwag's dismissal was the first salvo in a fightback when West Indies took seven wickets for 69 runs in 21 overs.
The West Indian bowlers profited from indifferent strokeplay by the Indian middle and lower orders.
Kaif was run out in the 40th over by Shivnarine Chanderpaul's throw to wicket-keeper Clinton Baugh after Venugopal Rao nudged a delivery from off-spinner Chris Gayle to short third man and set off for a single.
Bradshaw took two for 41 from eight overs.
Scoreboard
INDIA:
V. Sehwag lbw b Bravo 96
R. Dravid lbw b Bradshaw 0
S.K. Raina b Bradshaw 26
Mohammad Kaif run out 63
M.S. Dhoni run out 15
Y. Venugopal Rao run out 12
Irfan Pathan c and b Samuels 1
R.R. Powar b Sarwan 1
A.B. Agarkar c Lara b Bravo 8
Harbhajan Singh not out 7
S. Sreesanth not out 1
EXTRAS (LB-4, W-11, NB-1) 16
TOTAL (for nine wkts, 50 overs) 246
FALL OF WKTS: 1-1, 2-62, 3-174, 4-211, 5-216, 6-219, 7-224, 8-233, 9-243.
BOWLING: Bradshaw 8-2-41-2; Edwards 9-0-49-0 (1nb, 8w); Taylor 4-0-30-0; Samuels 10-0-40-1 (3w); Bravo 8-0-45-2; Gayle 10-0-36-0; Sarwan 1-0-1-1.
WEST INDIES: C.H. Gayle, R.S. Morton, R.R. Sarwan, B.C. Lara, S. Chanderpaul, M.N. Samuels, D.J.J. Bravo, C.S. Baugh, I.D.R. Bradshaw, J.E. Taylor, F.H. Edwards.
UMPIRES:: S.A. Bucknor (West Indies) and Asad Rauf (Pakistan).
TV UMPIRE: B.R. Doctrove (West Indies).
MATCH REFEREE: B.C. Broad (England).
—Agencies
