5 great West Indies bowling spells against India

From the fast and furious pace bowlers of the 70s to today’s T20 specialists, West Indies have always produced top class bowlers who have dominated international cricket through their tremendous skills and scintillating performances.

And unsurprisingly, some of the most memorable bowling performances of these West Indian bowlers have come against India, a team known for its strong batting strength. This battle between Caribbean bowlers and Indian batsmen has since ages fascinated cricket fans as fixtures between the two sides have resulted in the creation of some of the finest moments in the history of the game.

Here, we take a look at the top five bowling spells delivered by West Indies bowlers against India.

#5 Dwayne Bravo- 39/4 at Chennai in 2007

In a must-win game against India, West Indies were pushed to the corner as Indian batsmen took full advantage of a batting-friendly surface. After 37 overs India was at 237 for 4 with Sachin Tendulkar batting on 60.

But Dwayne Bravo rescued the visiting team with his smart and effective bowling. He sent back Tendulkar on the first ball of the 38^th over and turned the game on its head. In the following three overs, the right arm medium pace bowler troubled Yuvraj Singh and Dinesh Karthik with his accuracy and subtle change of pace.

Both batsmen tried to break the shackles and were dismissed in the same over. On the fourth ball of the 42^nd over, Yuvraj handed Bravo a simple catch in his follow through while Karthik edged the last ball of the over to the wicket keeper.

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Bravo then bowled economically in the death overs and prevented the Indian tailenders from causing any damage. He sent back Shanthakumaran Sreesanth in the 48^th over to finish India’s innings at 269.

From 237 for 4 India slumped to 269 all out in the span of 66 balls. Bravo, during that phase, bowled 36 balls, picking up four wickets and conceding only 15 runs.

Later on, Marlon Samuels’ swashbuckling 98 and Brian Lara’s elegant 83 enabled West Indies to chase the target in 44 overs.

#4 Darren Sammy- 16/4 at Trinidad in 2011

Damp conditions, moisture on the wicket and a second-string Indian team meant West Indies bowlers had everything in their favour as their captain won the toss in the only T20 played at Trinidad in 2011.

Darren Sammy, the captain, led from the front as he dismissed Shikhar Dhawan in the third over with a short delivery. He then sent back Virat Kohli and Parthiv Patel on successive deliveries in the 7th over courtesy of clever change of pace. In the following over India’s captain, Suresh Raina, too perished on a length ball and India was reduced to 56 for four in the 9th over.

Sammy finished his quota of four overs with impressive figures of 16 for four and created havoc by wrecking India’s top order. However, a sensible innings from Subramaniam Badrinath enabled India to reach 159 which proved too much for West Indies as they managed to get only 143 from their 20 overs.

#3 Sir Viv Richards- 41/6 at Delhi in 1989

Chasing a mediocre target of 197 at Delhi in 1989, India were firmly placed at 158 for 5 with the duo of Ravi Shastri and Kapil Dev at the crease.

And that is when the visiting captain, Sir Vivian Richards, decided to take the ball. Earlier in the day, he had removed Mohinder Amarnath and Mohammad Azharuddin and just when things looked difficult for his frontline bowlers, he decided bowl the 38^th over.

The right arm bowler forced Shastri to offer a catch to Haynes and in the same over, got rid of the dangerous Kapil Dev as well. The skipper finished the over by trapping Kiran More leg before wicket. From 158 for 5, India slipped to 160 for 8 in just one over.

The legendary West Indian finished off the game in the 42^nd over by knocking off Arshad Ayub’s stumps. By picking up six wickets in 41 runs, Richards registered his best bowling figures and also helped his team win the game by 20 runs.

#2 Dwayne Bravo- 37/2 at Lauderhill in 2016

It was a perfect T20 game. Played on a flat pitch with short boundaries and in front of a jam-packed stadium, the first T20 between India and West Indies at Lauderhill, USA saw a total of 489 runs, the most in any T20 game.

West Indies piled up 245 runs in the first innings and India responded brilliantly by going for the kill. After 17 overs India had scored 213 runs with just three wickets down. 33 runs were needed from 18 balls and at the crease was arguably India’ a best-limited overs finisher MS Dhoni with KL Rahul.

But Dwayne Bravo, the master of death bowling, once again stamped his supremacy by managing two overs of absolute brilliance. In the 18^th over, he conceded just nine runs and offered only one boundary.

The 19^th over over yielded 16 runs and the game looked finished as India needed a mere eight runs from the last over.

However, Bravo upped the ante and showcased some fine death over bowling under pressure in his final over. On the first ball, he created an opportunity but Dhoni was put down. For the next five balls, he mixed up slower balls with searing yorkers and denied Indians any boundaries.

Dhoni and Rahul managed to get only six runs from the final over and West Indies won the game by one run. Bravo’s bowling figures of two for 37 in four overs by no means look impressive but his second spell of 2-0-15-1 under the circumstances was simply marvellous.

And fittingly enough, in the match where batsmen dominated the proceedings, it was a bowler who decided the result of the game.

#1 Patrick Patterson- 29/6 at Nagpur in 1987

The first game in the seven-match ODI series between India and West Indies in 1987 was a classic contest of patience and nerves. Played on a bowling friendly Nagpur wicket, the match witnessed only 396 runs but was full of emotions and drama.

Chasing a paltry target of 204, the Indian top order was demolished by the menacing pace of Patrick Patterson who took three wickets in his opening spell and reduced India to 18 for three.

Kapil Dev fought valiantly in the middle overs and stitched an invaluable 113 runs for the sixth wicket with Ravi Shastri. Kapil’s phenomenal counter-attack threatened to take the game away from the visitors and hence, the West Indies captain brought back his ace bowler in the attack.

The right arm bowler obliged and removed the dangerous Kapil and then accounted for Shastri as well. However, Kiran More with little support from the other end, continued playing his strokes and kept India in the game.

Finally in the 45^th over, with India just 11 runs away from the target, Patterson ended More’s fight and registered his best ODI bowling figures of 6 for 29 in a match that is remembered for his sensational pace bowling.