India Win by 224 Runs, Take 2-1 Series Lead
Mumbai, Oct 29: India embarrassed the West Indies by 224 runs in the fourth One-day International here Monday for one of their biggest wins and a 2-1 lead in the five-match series.
Rohit Sharma (162) and Ambati Rayudu (100) struck belligerent centuries to guide India to an imposing 377 for five after the hosts opted to bat.
The duo took centre stage after a rare failure by skipper Virat Kohli.
Rohit's 21st century came off 137 balls with the help of 20 fours and four hits over the fence, while Rayudu decorated his 100-run knock with eight boundaries and four sixes.
Chasing 378, West Indies simply caved in against India's clinical bowling attack on what was a batting-friendly wicket to be bundled out for a paltry 153 in 36.2 overs.
Young pacer Khaleel Ahmed (3/13) impressed upfront before chinaman Kuldeep Yadav (3/42)) ran through the West Indies' tail.
The Indians dished out an impressive effort on the field, inflicting two run outs besides Rohit holding onto three fine catches in the slips.
This is India's third biggest win in the format. Their biggest-ever win in ODI remains the 257-run demolition of Bermuda in the 2007 ICC World Cup.
West Indies' chase never really got going as they lost half of their side inside the 50-run mark with Khaleel doing the bulk of the damage.
Except for skipper Jason Holder (54 not out), no other West Indian batsmen could withstand the Indian attack, as the visitors lost wickets at regular intervals and were never really in the hunt.
West Indies lost two wickets -- Chandrapul Hemraj (14) and Shai Hope (0) -- in the fifth over.
While Hemraj gave a sitter to Rayudu off Bhuvaneshwar Kumar, Hope was run out courtesy a stunning direct hit by Kuldeep from mid-on.
Matters became worse for the visitors after Kieran Powell (4) was run-out in the very next over by Kohli.
Wickets kept tumbling and the next to be dismissed was Shimron Hetymar (13), who was trapped in front by Ahmed in the 10th over, even though the batsman went for an unsuccessful review.
The 20-year-old Ahmed was on fire as he picked up two more wickets in quick succession. He first cleaned up Rovman Powell (1) and then accounted for Samuels, who edged one to Rohit in the first slip.
Batting first, India made a quick start with Rohit and Shikhar Dhawan (38) and added a run-a-ball 71 for the opening stand before the latter pulled a Keemo Paul short delivery straight to Powell at the mid wicket boundary.
Kohli, who hit three consecutive tons before Monday's match, played aggressively for his 16 before edging a Kemar Roach delivery to Hope behind the stumps.
Rohit and Rayudu held fort and continued to play aggressive brand of cricket.
The duo continued the onslaught and made the West Indies attack look ordinary, picking up boundaries and sixes at will.
After Kohli's dismissal, Rohit, who had scored a match-winning unbeaten 152 in the lung-opener at Guwahati, and Rayudu built the innings and in the process shared a breezy 211-run stand for the third wicket, which came off just 163 deliveries.
Rohit didn't spare a single West Indian bowler and made his intentions clear when he opened the account with a boundary over point.
The Mumbaikar initially played second fiddle to Dhawan but after his half century, that came off 60 balls, he upped the ante.
Rohit displayed all the shots in the book -- the drives, pulls, flicks and cuts -- before he departed in the 44th over.
Rayudu, on the other hand, took time to settle down, but then hammered the bowlers with his exquisite stroke-play -- first in Rohit's company and then alongside veteran Mahendra Singh Dhoni (23).
Kedar Jadhav (16) and Ravindra Jadeja (7) remained unbeaten as the hosts amassed 116 runs in the last 10 overs.
India won the first ODI by eight wickets before the second game ended in a tie. West Indies bounced back to win the third ODI by 43 runs. The final match of the series will be played in Thiruvananthapuram on Thursday.
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Indian mobile hospital treats over 2,200 cyclone-hit people as New Delhi ramps up relief efforts in
Colombo (PTI): A mobile hospital set up by India in Sri Lanka has provided medical care to over 2,200 people affected by Cyclone Ditwah, as New Delhi ramped up its assistance to the flood-ravaged island nation with engineering support and delivery of fresh relief consignments, the Indian mission here said on Sunday.
Sri Lanka has been grappling with widespread flooding, landslides and severe infrastructure collapse triggered by the cyclone, leaving several districts isolated and severely straining the country's disaster-response capacity.
At least 627 people have been killed and 190 remain missing as of Sunday noon due to catastrophic floods and landslides caused by extreme weather conditions since November 16.
Sharing a social media post by the Ministry of External Affairs on its X handle, the Indian High Commission said a field hospital set up by India in Mahiyanganaya near Kandy has provided medical care to more than 2,200 people affected by the cyclone since December 5.
The hospital has also performed 67 minor procedures and three surgeries, it said. The field hospital was airlifted to Sri Lanka by an IAF C-17 aircraft along with a 78-member Indian medical team on Tuesday.
In another post, the mission said Indian Army engineers, working with Sri Lanka Army Engineers and the Road Development Authority, in Kilinochchi have begun removing a damaged bridge on the Paranthan–Karachchi–Mullaitivu (A35) road, a key route disrupted by the cyclone.
"This joint effort marks another step toward restoring vital connectivity for affected communities," it said.
India has additionally sent nearly 1,000 tonnes of food items and clothing contributed by the people of Tamil Nadu. Of these, about 300 tonnes reached Colombo on Sunday morning aboard three Indian Naval ships.
High Commissioner Santosh Jha handed over the supplies to Sri Lankan Minister for Trade, Commerce, Food Security and Cooperative Development Wasantha Samarasinghe.
India, on November 28, launched 'Operation Sagar Bandhu', a Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) initiative, to aid Sri Lanka in its recovery from the devastation caused by Cyclone Ditwah.
Since the launch of the operation, India has provided about 58 tonnes of relief material, including dry rations, tents, tarpaulins, hygiene kits, essential cloths, water purification kits and about 4.5 tonnes of medicines and surgical equipment, the Indian mission said in a press release on Sunday.
Another 60 tonnes of equipment, including generators, inflatable rescue boats, Outboard Motors, and excavators, have also been brought to Sri Lanka, it said, adding that 185 tonnes of Bailey Bridge units were airlifted to restore critical connectivity along with 44 engineers.
Two columns of the National Disaster Response Force, comprising 80 experts and K9 units with specially trained dogs, assisted with immediate rescue and relief efforts in Sri Lanka.
Besides the field hospital in Mahiyanganaya, medical centres have also been set up in the badly hit Ja-Ela region and in Negombo. INS Vikrant, INS Udaygiri, and INS Sukanya provided immediate rescue and relief assistance to Sri Lanka.
Apart from the two Chetak helicopters deployed from INS Vikrant, two heavy-lift, MI-17 helicopters of the Indian Air Force are actively involved in evacuations and airlifting relief material, the release said.
At the request of the Sri Lankan Disaster Management Centre, a virtual meeting was organised between DMC and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)'s National Remote Sensing Centre on Saturday.
Since the onset of the disaster, ISRO has been providing maps to assist DMC in its rescue efforts, the release said.
