DAMBULLA (Sri Lanka), July 31: Rahul Dravid hit a second successive half-century to shape India’s comfortable six-wicket victory over a depleted West Indies in the triangular one-day series match on Sunday.

The Indian captain scored an unbeaten 52 to help his team surpass a modest West Indies total of 178 with 14 overs to spare in the day/night match.

Dravid, who scored a solid 54 against Sri Lanka on Saturday, hit seven fours in his 65-ball knock. He looked in command from the beginning, hammering paceman Tino Best for three consecutive boundaries.

India tasted their first success in two matches despite experimenting with their batting order.

India, who also tried new combinations during a three-wicket defeat against Sri Lanka on Saturday, succeeded this time as the West Indies lacked the resources to test their rivals.

The West Indies batting was below-par. They then dropped three catches and conceded 18 wides, which affected their chances of putting pressure on India in a low-scoring match.

The West Indies are without their key players, including Brian Lara, Chris Gayle and Ramnaresh Sarwan, following a contract dispute with their cricket board.

Virender Sehwag, who opened with Mahendra Singh Dhoni against Sri Lanka, had a new partner in Mohammad Kaif, a middle-order batsman. Teenager Suresh Raina was also promoted in the batting order.

The decision did not backfire against a weak West Indies team as Kaif contributed 24 and Raina 35.

The West Indies failed to make the most of their limited resources as they bowled and fielded erratically after the dismal batting performance.

They needed early wickets to sustain their hopes of defending a small total but could grab just one when paceman Jermaine Lawson had Sehwag caught behind for two.

The West Indies then dropped Raina twice. The left-hander was on nought when let off by Ricardo Powell off Lawson and then on 27 when dropped by debutant wicket-keeper Denesh Ramdin off Best.

Raina went on to add 65 for the second wicket with Kaif which put his team on course for a win.

The Indian bowlers also were not seriously tested by the West Indies, having seven players in the side who had not played 10 one-dayers before this game.

Off-spinner Harbhajan Singh, playing his 100th one-dayer, Sehwag and left-arm seamer Ashish Nehra each grabbed two wickets.

Narsingh Deonarine gave a good account of himself in his debut match, top-scoring with a defiant 91-ball 41. He put on 52 for the fourth wicket with skipper Shivnarine Chanderpaul, the highest stand of the innings.

The West Indian innings never took off after Chanderpaul chose to bat. They headed for a modest total after being reduced to 109-6 in the 34th over.

Chanderpaul and Ricardo Powell have both figured in more than 100 matches but neither could come up with a significant knock on Sunday. Chanderpaul made 22 off 53 balls and Powell just one before being bowled by Sehwag.

Chanderpaul, dropped on seven by Sehwag at second slip off Nehra, failed to capitalise on the chance. He added 15 more to his score before becoming spinner Raina’s first victim in one-dayers.

Dwayne Smith played a couple of big shots, including a six each off Sehwag and Raina, but he was caught behind off Harbhajan after contributing a seven-ball 20.

Ramdin and Best each made 24, but the West Indies still failed to bat their allotted 50 overs.

Scoreboard

WEST INDIES:

X.M. Marshall c Dravid b Harbhajan 26

R.S. Morton lbw b Pathan 1

S.C. Joseph run out 3

N. Deonarine lbw b Sehwag 41

S. Chanderpaul lbw b Raina 22

R.L. Powell b Sehwag 1

D.R. Smith c Dhoni b Harbhajan 20

D. Ramdin b Nehra 24

T.L. Best c Raina b Zaheer 24

D.B. Powell b Nehra 0

J.J.C. Lawson not out 3

EXTRAS (B-2, LB-6, W-4, NB-1) 13

TOTAL (all out, 47.4 overs) 178

FALL OF WKTS: 1-1, 2-22, 3-32, 4-84, 5-85, 6-109, 7-140, 8-172, 9-172.

BOWLING: Irfan Pathan 9-3-29-1; Zaheer Khan 9.4-2-32-1 (1w); Harbhajan Singh 10-1-24-2; Nehra 9-2-23-2 (2w); Sehwag 6-0-39-2 (1nb); Raina 4-0-23-1.

INDIA:

Mohammad Kaif c Joseph b Best 24

V. Sehwag c Ramdin b Lawson 2

S. Raina c Marshall b Smith 35

R. Dravid not out 52

Yuvraj Singh b Lawson 28

M.S. Dhoni not out 15

EXTRAS (LB-5, W-18, NB-1) 24

TOTAL (for four wkts, 36 overs) 180

FALL OF WKTS: 1-3, 2-68, 3-82, 4-143.

DID NOT BAT: V. Rao, Irfan Pathan, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, A. Nehra.

BOWLING: D.B. Powell 10-1-44-0 (5w); Lawson 10-0-66-2 (6w); Smith 10-0-37-1 (1w); Best 5-0-26-1 (1nb, 1w); Morton 1-0-2-0.

RESULT: India won by six wickets.

UMPIRES: T.H. Wijewardene (Sri Lanka) and D.J. Harper (Australia).

TV UMPIRE: P.T. Manuel (Sri Lanka).

MATCH REFEREE: M.J. Procter (South Africa).

MAN-OF-THE-MATCH: Rahul Dravid.

NEXT MATCH: Sri Lanka v West Indies at Dambulla (D/N) on Tuesday.—AFP