Opener Chris Gayle ensures comprehensive win for Windies

A blazing 84 run knock from opener Chris Gayle ensured a comprehensive seven-wicket victory for the West Indies in the fourth one-day international with 17 balls remaining. The ODI series is now level at one-all with the final match to be played on Sunday.

After rains forced the match in the Queen's Oval Park in Port-of-Spain (Trinidad) to be truncated, India managed a paltry 123 before being bowled out off the last ball of the allotted 25 overs.

In the end it was asking for a little too much of the Indian team, which is still trying to unravel the 50-over version of the game, to play a 25-over game and win it.

Indian innings:

The hosts' promise of surprises was a case of all-sound-and-no-fury with the entry of Pedro Collins into the side in place of all-rounder Ryan Hinds being the only change.

The major change came from the Indian side with a worrisome shoulder forcing Sachin Tendulkar to make way for V V S Laxman.

Sourav Ganguly winning his third consecutive toss decided to bat on a strip washed by rain over the past two weeks.

However, what seemed to be a passing shower in the morning persisted letting the game get underway only at 1330 hours local time.

The Indians got off to a bad start when Virendra Sehwag, taking his slam-bang reputation way too seriously, slogged Mervyn Dillon to Brian Lara at mid-wicket off the very first ball he faced.

Man-of-the-match at Barbados, Dinesh Mongia joined skipper Sourav Ganguly in the middle and sent the first ball he faced to the third-man fence.

Ganguly, who went about his task in a business-like fashion, found the fence at will. His cover drive and pull off Cameron Cuffy held testimony to his credentials as one of the finest one-day players in the world.

In the sixth over, Mongia's attempt to send the ball to the fence to maintain the tempo found his stumps in disarray by a full toss from Cuffy.

The visitors' worries were amplified when Ganguly and Laxman misjudged a single. A direct throw from Carl Hooper from mid-wicket found Laxman short of his crease and India plummeted to 53-3.

Yuvraj Singh pottered around for five balls before edging the ball to the keeper while trying an ambitious drive and walked back into the dressing room dodging the coach's scornful look. (56-4)

With wickets falling faster than the morning showers, Ganguly decided to accelerate the scoring rate.

Walking across his stumps to despatch the ball to the square-leg fence, Ganguly missed the delivery from Colleymore and was rapped on the pads.

The path the ball was taking seemed to clearly miss the off-stump but umpire David Shepherd did not agree and sent Ganguly back to the pavilion. (66-5)

Mohammed Kaif joined vice-captain Rahul Dravid and wove what looked like a useful partnership before pulling Colleymore to Chris Gayle at mid-wicket. (86-6)

Number eight batsman Ajit Agarkar gave Colleymore his third wicket of the match edging the ball to keeper Ridley Jacobs as India seemed in danger of being bowled out within their quota of 25 overs.

Dravid got India past the 100-run mark in style by hoisting Cuffy over the extra-cover fence.

Dravid was almost run out when substitute Ryan Hinds effected a direct hit at the stumps, but the Indian vice-captain just about made his ground.

Off the very next delivery, Hooper got the ball to turn sharply and Dravid, looking to cut the ball, was castled. He scored 28 runs off 36 balls. (110-8)

Off the first ball of his next over, Hooper foxed Zaheer Khan - playing a restrained innings - with a quicker delivery as India lost its ninth wicket for 118.

Harbhajan Singh was dismissed off the last ball of the innings nicking Pedro Collins to the keeper with the score at 123.

The Indian innings had one telling statistic - 94 dot balls of the 150 deliveries bowled with a mere 41 singles.

The alarming statistic completely went against coach John Wright's dot-ball theory about scoring more singles than dot balls to win.

West Indies innings:

Jamaicans Chris Gayle and Wavell Hinds made their way to the crease chasing a small target on a lightning fast outfield.

The first boundary of the innings almost cost them the wicket of Chris Gayle as the ball flew past Ganguly's head at extra cover.

In the seventh over, Tinu Yohannan changed ends and with it the fortunes of the West Indies.

Off the first ball, Gayle sent the ball to the fence with a lofted straight drive.

The second ball, he danced down the track and smashed the tall bowler for a huge six over long-on.

Two runs and a no-ball later, the Jamaican left-hander found the long-on fence.

Gayle then hit two sublime cover drives to the fence as the West Indies more than decided the result of the match in their favour.

Gayle reached his half-century in 40 balls with eight fours even as the West Indies closed in on the 100-run mark.

Wavell Hinds also got into the thick of things dancing down the track and lofting Harbhajan Singh into the stands.

Yohannan was reintroduced into the attack and Gayle greeted him with yet another six over mid-wicket reducing the victory target to eight runs.

The young seamer from Kerala finally redeemed himself by castling Wavell Hinds for 30 off the last ball of his over, and breaking the 117-run opening partnership.

Off the very next ball from Zaheer Khan, the West Indies lost their second wicket when Gayle - who was only dealing in boundaries - top-edged the ball to Ganguly at mid-wicket.

By then, Gayle had blasted the Indians out of the reckoning scoring 84 runs in 67 deliveries with nine boundaries and two sixes.

West Indies lost their 3rd wicket when Ramnaresh Sarwan chopped a Yohannan delivery onto his stumps.

Carl Hooper and Brain Lara then scored the required six runs to draw the series 1-1.

The decider is to be played at the same venue on Sunday.

Scoreboard