India humbled by Windies

Kochi - Marlon Samuels' unbeaten ton has proved the difference as West Indies dismissed India for 197 to record a convincing 124-run victory in the first one-day international at the Nehru Stadium in Kochi on Wednesday.

The supersport.com website reports that with the hosts chasing a daunting 322 to win, only opener Shikar Dhawan offered any real resistance without much assistance as he laboured for nearly 30 overs.

India lost regular wickets with their star batmen failing to contribute with Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina and skipper MS Dhoni all unable to make it to double-figures.

Dhawan went on to make 68, amassing 9 fours before falling to man-of-the-match Marlon Samuels in the 29th over.

Samuels took 2 for 10 from 3 overs.

All-rounder Ravindra Jadeja (33 not out) and Mohammed Shami (19) rallied late on with 42 for the last wicket, but Ravi Rampaul ended proceedings with a yorker that smashed into the tailender's leg stump in the 41st over.

Earlier, Samuels and Denesh Ramdin put on 165 runs for the fourth wicket to lift West Indies to 321 for six from their 50 overs.

Samuels went on to notch his sixth century of his career and matched his highest-score with an unbeaten 126 from 116 deliveries after they were sent in to bat by Indian skipper MS Dhoni.

The pair went on to occupy the crease for over 20 overs, taking advantage of the decent platform laid by opener Dwayne Smith (46 from 45), before Ramdin mishit a low full-toss to long-on for a comfortable catch for Ravi Jadeja.

Samuels battered 11 fours and 6 maximums while Ramdin struck 5 fours and 2 sixes in his innings of 61 from 59 balls.

Mohammed Shami was the pick of the bowlers with crafty bowling that slowed the visitors down at the back-end of their innings and was rewarded with figures of 4-66 from 9 overs.

The match might have been cancelled due to a row between leading West Indies players and their own union.

The West Indies Players Assocation (WIPA) and the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) signed a new agreement last month covering pay and conditions but all-rounder Dwayne Bravo said players were kept in the dark about the talks and would not accept the outcome.

Teams:

India: S Dhawan, AM Rahane, V Kohli, AT Rayudu, SK Raina, MS Dhoni (captain, wicketkeeper), RA Jadeja, B Kumar, A Mishra, Mohammed Shami, MM Sharma

West Indies: DR Smith, MN Samuels, DM Bravo, D Ramdin (wicketkeeper), DJ Bravo, KA Pollard, DJG Sammy (captain), AD Russell, SJ Benn, R Rampaul, JE Taylor