India 'A' vs West Indies 'A' – Top five performances in the ODI series

Not even close – that just about sums up the unsuccessful chase of India ‘A’ against a resurgent West Indies ‘A’ at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore today, as they surrendered the three-match unofficial ODI series rather tamely to the visitors.

If it was Johnson Carter who dashed Indian hopes in the second game, today was the turn of Kirk Edwards to join the party with a blistering century that piloted his side to a 300-plus score. The home team barely threatened to overcome this stiff target, falling 45 runs short to hand the series to the Calypsos on a platter.

Nevertheless, there were some fine performances on both sides.

Special Mention: Jaydev Unadkat (7 wickets)

The lanky left-arm seamer from Porbandar came into his own during the final ODI as he troubled the opposition batsmen with his swing and seam. He was the only bowler, apart from left-arm spinner Shahbaz Nadeem, who looked like threatening the Windies lineup.

Although Unadkat ended up with a fiver, his wickets came only because the batsmen were looking for quick runs in order to push the score beyond 300. Nevertheless, on a disappointing day, the young seamer shone brilliantly like the sun with his stellar performance.

Here’s a list of the top five key performers for the series:

5. Shahbaz Nadeem (2 wickets and 27 runs)

Delhi Daredevils’ left-arm spinner Shahbaz Nadeem didn’t exactly set the stage on fire during the series, but his clever variations ensured that the batsmen couldn’t go after him at all times. He was able to keep the flow of runs under some control, while the rest of his bowling colleagues leaked them by the dozen.

Nadeem also chipped in with useful runs down the order in the second game, though they came a little too late for India ‘A’ to pose any serious challenge. However, he still remains a fine prospect for the national side. Given the way he bowled in the last two matches, he should have been in the playing XI for all three games.

4. Kirk Edwards (159 runs)

For a batsman who began his Test career with a century, the 28-year old batsman from Barbados hasn’t done enough to cement a place in the senior team. However, his knock at Bangalore today might just prompt the selectors to draft him into the national squad without any delay.

It was a typical one-day innings from the right-hander; he started off slowly, looking to avoid the mistakes of the previous two games where he was dismissed early. A wayward Yuvraj Singh offered him just the right amount of width and deliveries to play his shots, calming his nerves and retaining his focus. He concentrated on constructing a solid platform of runs, a substantial amount for his bowlers to defend, before stepping on the accelerator and unleashing the big shots.

Edwards’ century will not only be a timely boost for his confidence, but also remind the selectors that he’s not a has-been yet. As long as he keeps his consistency, he should be able to represent his country for the next 4-5 years at least. Great work!

3. Miguel Cummins (7 wickets)

The young pacer, clubbed for runs in the first game, bounced back hard – and almost literally – at the Indian batsmen, putting them through a torrid test of pace and exposing their discomfort against the short ball as he went on to demolish the lineup in the most clinical way he could think of.

Cummins is relatively new to the first-class arena, but in full flow, he reminds one of the famed West Indies pace quartet of old. He doesn’t rely on raw pace alone; he uses the back-of-a-length delivery very well and keeps batsmen guessing with an immaculate off-stump line. He needs to be handled carefully if the selectors look at him as a long-term prospect. A job well done with the ball, young man!

2. Jonathan Carter (168 runs and 3 wickets)

The Windies knew they had a fight on their hands after going 0-1 down in the series, and the southpaw provided the spark they needed to stage a brilliant comeback and eventually take the tourney in grand style.

Carter, who is yet to represent his country in all three formats, proceeded to play an innings that drew praise for being both entertaining and well-crafted. He took a leaf out of rival skipper Yuvraj Singh’s book – first getting his eye in and then unfurling the power hitting, causing mayhem among the opposition bowlers. It was controlled, measured aggression, not the kind of slogging you’d normally expect from a young turk. And when spin was introduced, Carter quietly put on his dancing shoes as he countered that threat with his lovely footwork.

Luck favoured him as well – two misfields resulted in boundaries, while he was dropped early in his innings by Robin Uthappa. He survived a run-out attempt too, and made the fielding side pay dearly for their lapses, as he progressed to a well-deserved hundred. Definitely a top-class find!

1. Yuvraj Singh (224 runs)

The Punjab dasher made a spirited return to competitive cricket with a brutal century in the first game that put his side one up in the series. However, despite his fluent knocks in the remaining two matches, India ‘A’ just couldn’t raise the level of their game; as a result, they ended up losing the series.

Yuvraj the batsman made merry against a West Indies attack that hardly looked like threatening the powerful batting lineup of the hosts. He followed up his century with two more prosaic efforts, but each time, he got out playing away from his body. His footwork, so self-assured in the first match, looked a bit out of place in the last two, despite getting runs.

But Yuvraj the captain was a failure, to say the least. He made a lot of questionable field placements; a vacant off-side field allowed the likes of Kirk Edwards and Jonathan Carter to coast to match-winning hundreds. He also bowled too short and too wide at times, looking like a pale shadow of the part-timer whose spells had stifled international lineups in the World Cup.

Nevertheless, on the strength of his batting alone, Yuvraj deserves to return to the national fold immediately. It is the one-off T20 he should focus on now, and it is a format in which he excels. Terrific stuff with the bat!