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Sehwag's Unforgettable Double Hundred in ODI's

Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag added 176 runs

Virender Sehwag scored a blistering 219 as India clinched the ODI series against West Indies with a convincing 153-run win in the fourth one-dayer to take an unassailable 3-1 lead. Denesh Ramdin threw away a possible maiden ODI century, being last man out as he wildly slog-swept Suresh Raina to be caught for 96, but no other batsmen put up much of a fight. Chasing a enormous target of 419, West Indies were bowled out for 265 in 49.2 overs.

Ramdin was the single fighter in the visitors’ innings. Lendl Simmons (36), Marlon Samuels (33) and allrounder Andre Russell (29) got starts but could not convert them into big knocks. Ravindra Jadeja (3 for 34), debutant spinner Rahul Sharma (3 for 43), part-timer Suresh Raina (2 for 17) and R Ashwin (1 for 59) accounted for nine wickets. Sharma, who has been touring with the side for almost two months, was chosen over the recalled Irfan Pathan and totally foxed West Indies after Sehwag's murderous assault had already demoralized them.

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India has an incomplete business before they launch their excitedly awaited tour Down Under. The West Indies are proving too sticky for the Indians and they need to be on the guard, lest the visitors run away with the series. Stand-in captain Virender Sehwag knows well that his team needs to deliver the knockout punch in the fourth one-day international at the Holkar Stadium on Thursday, rather than leave the fate of the five-match series to the final game in Chennai.

India could have been tempted to bring in Ajinkya Rahane, but with still a lot at stake in the series, they may well stick with Gambhir. Besides the poor form of the top-order, another area of concern for India has been their bowling at the death. The bowlers have leaked runs, enabling the West Indies to come back strongly. First it was Ravi Rampaul's heroic blitz at Visakhapatnam and then Captain Darren Sammy's cameo in Ahmedabad that sent the rival bowling in disarray.

"We have let the West Indies off the hook during the slog overs. We need to tighten things and not give their batsmen too many opportunities with loose balls. Hopefully, the bowlers have learnt their lessons and will give an improved display," Viru said on the eve of the tie. India has had an inexperienced bowling attack in the first three games, but with the return of Irfan Pathan things should look up, particularly in the final overs. Though he lacks pace, the Baroda left-arm seamer is a crafty customer and has the skill to keep a check on the free-flowing Caribbean batsmen.

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Abhimanyu Mithun, the Karnataka fast bowler, has been named as Praveen Kumar's replacement in India's Test squad for their tour of Australia. Irfan Pathan, the Baroda all rounder, has been picked for the last two one-dayers against West Indies, marking his return to the international group after more than two years.

After Praveen was ruled out of the Tests with a cracked rib, the selectors had to add another seamer to the 17-man squad for Australia and the place was probable to go to either one of Mithun, Vinay Kumar or Irfan Pathan. Mithun got that spot, but a place in the ODI squad was vacated because Umesh Yadav is departing for Australia early. Irfan's performances in the ongoing domestic season have been satisfied with that spot for the final two one-dayers.

Irfan has not played for India since 2009, but drew notice because of his performance in this season's Ranji Trophy, in which he is the leading wicket-taker in the Elite division, having taken 21 wickets in three games. Mithun took six wickets in three Tests on the tour of Sri Lanka in July 2010, his debut series.

India squad for last two ODIs: Virender Sehwag (capt), Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, Parthiv Patel (wk), Rohit Sharma, Vinay Kumar, Irfan Pathan, Abhimanyu Mithun, Varun Aaron, R Ashwin, Manoj Tiwary, Ravindra Jadeja, Suresh Raina, Ajinkya Rahane, Rahul Sharma

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With a 2-0 lead in hand, India are definitely on course to record a second consecutive one-day series triumph at home as they take on West Indies in the third ODI of the five-match series at the Sardar Patel Gujarat Stadium in Motera on Monday. Although it has not been without some hiccups, the hosts look all set to hand out another defeat to the visiting side and take a winning 3-0 lead at the ground where they dethroned 2007 champions Australia on March 24 on their way to grabbing cricket's most popular crown - the World Cup.

The Virender Sehwag-led hosts have shown very good tenaciousness in the face of deep trouble to win the first two games of the series at Cuttack and Vishakhapatnam. They struggled to overcome a very modest target of 212 set by the Windies in the first ODI and then failed to deliver the knock-out blow when they had the visitors on the hop at 170 for 9 in the second match. On the first occasion, India rescued by the last wicket pair of Varun Aaron and Umesh Yadav.

In the second game too India allowed Ravi Rampaul to smash a world record score for a no. 10 batsman, 86 not out in 66 balls with six sixes and as many fours, to help his team accumulate a tough 269 after they were 170 for 9 through a fighting, incomplete last wicket stand of 99 with Kemar Roach who made 24 not out. It needed a determined and tenacious stand of 163 runs between young guns Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma to guide India to a victory after they were in difficulties at 84 for 3.

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The West Indians are slipping, then fighting back and even getting close to victory in the ongoing ODI series but are then running out of ideas. Chasing 269, the hosts completed with 270/5 with 11 balls to spare. Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma showed that the future of Indian cricket is safe in their willows. Coming together at 84/3, the duo made sure that there were no Cuttack-like hiccups or a close nail-biting finish by stringing jointly a 163-run partnership for the fourth wicket that snuffed out the Windies challenge.

Kohli enhanced his qualifications by notching up his second century at the venue. The Delhi batsman was hardly in trouble as he stroked 14 boundaries in his 123-ball 117 but will be unhappy with his dismissal. Rohit, who made a match-winning 72 in the previous game but rued the fact that he was not in the middle to finish the game, showed that he is a quick learner. Rohit unbeaten 90 (98b; 7x4, 2x6), was in superb touch from the word go. His timing was near perfect and shot selection was above reproach.

More highly, he was at the wicket when the winning runs were scored by Ravindra Jadeja. If the evening session was sans much drama, the first session didn't have a dull moment as fortunes swung to and fro. Sammy was expecting one of his lead batsmen to take up the challenge and give his side a defendable total but at 170/9, all his dreams once again lay crushed and the visitors looked headed for a huge defeat. No. 10 bat Ravi Rampaul threw caution to wind as he smashed career-best unbeaten 86 (66 balls, 6x4, 6x6) to take his side to 269/9.

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As the tour moves to the YS Rajasekhara Reddy Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam, the contest between the teams - which seemed rather expected to begin with - has acquired a more exciting taste following a couple of overexcited finishes in the lead-up to this game. A draw with the scores level in the third Test and a nail-biting finish in Cuttack, during which Varun Aaron and Umesh Yadav provided an insight into the details of human behaviour under pressure, have spiced up a home season characterized by one-sided contests and poor crowds.

A high-scoring venue, teams have gone past 250 in each of the six ODI innings here - twice while chasing effectively. Indian top order will not want to fall victim to the "soft dismissals" that their captain Virender Sehwag criticized them for after the Cuttack game. Even more so for West Indies. They were troubled by India's seamers in Cuttack, but are now at a venue where the bowlers' skills and variations have been of partial value in past games.

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Rohit Sharma made a successful comeback and helped India come back from the jaws of an embarrassing defeat. The one-day thriller at Cuttack was so much like the gripping stuff dished out at the Mumbai Test which preceded this series. And that India crossed the finishing line at the Barabati Stadium, something which they failed to do at the Wankhede, was because of the nature of the last Indian pair Umesh Yadav (6 not out) and Varun Aaron (6 not out).

When Umesh’s boundary brought the winning runs for the home team, an ecstatic Rohit was visibly the happiest man, jumping with unrestrained joy. The one-wicket win was as much India’s as Rohit’s. Returning to international cricket after an almost three-month injury lay-off because of a cracked finger, Rohit played a stellar 72-run innings and broke the hearts of the West Indies players who, perhaps, surpassed their own prospect and put up an excellent bowling performance.

When Vinay Kumar departed, India was unfaithfully placed at 201 for nine. The target was 11 steps away, but with Yadav and Aaron in charge, it was actually an Everest to climb. But that sports involve not only skill, but also heart was once again shown by this brave-heart pair. It was a low day for the top-order of either side. If the West Indies had slumped to 52 for three during their innings, the Indians gave them a strong competition in weakness as they were reduced to 59 for five during the reply.

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India has beaten only two series. It's an amazing statistic given how progressively difficult India have become to defeat at home. Only South Africa have beaten India in a Test at home in more than five years, yet a whitewash has barely ever been a thought in recent times. A mix of flat tracks and slow starts has denied India complete domination even while being kings of their castle.

In this series against West Indies, though, India overcame the slow start in Delhi and the flat track in Kolkata. They now stand on the cusp of that indefinable whitewash, just like they did in 2002-03 against the same opponents, the last time India went into the last Test with the opportunity of a clean sweep. India fell behind in that Eden Gardens Test back then, and Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman forced a draw on the final day.

They won't want to leave the job unfinished this time. When West Indies went to Pakistan in 1997-98, they had been whitewashed only once, that too in their first series, back in 1928. In less than 14 years since that Pakistan tour, they have added six to that tally. Times have been worried, but West Indies have gone six years without getting whitewashed. They will need their best cricket to avoid another.

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Rohit Sharma will replace Yuvraj Singh in India's team for the third and final Test against the West Indies, beginning in Mumbai, on November 22.Middle-order batsman Sharma was rewarded for reliable performances in the domestic circuit. In the only change in the squad that won the second Test at the Eden Gardens on Thursday by an innings and 15 runs, the selectors drafted him in place of the Punjab batsman, who scored only 66 runs in the three innings he played in the first two Tests of the ongoing series.

With spinners Ravichandran Ashwin and Pragyan Ojha doing well, Harbhajan Singh was again overlooked. Yuvraj scored 23 and 18 in the first Test at the Ferozshah Kotla, while 25 was that entire he could gather on a batting paradise at the Eden Gardens. The leaving out could well mean curtains for the soon-to-be 30 southpaw who won the Player of the Tournament award in the last World Cup. Rohit has been rewarded for back-to-back centuries against Railways and Rajasthan in the Ranji Trophy.

While the elegant batsman scored 175 on a turner at the Karnail Singh Stadium in Delhi, he smashed a quickfire 100 against Rajasthan in Mumbai's last Ranji match. Rohit missed out on a Test cap in 2010 after a freak injury while playing football during practice at the VCA ground in Jamtha an hour before the Test against South Africa could begin. With the No 6 slot vacant, it will be a tussle between Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane and Rohit.

The squad: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain), Virender Sehwag , Gautam Gambhir, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman , Rohit Sharma, Ishant Sharma, R Ashwin, Pragyan Ojha, Umesh Yadav, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Rahul Sharma, Varun Aaron.

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The Trinidadian top-order batsman Jason Mohammed and spinner Sunil Narine - were the new faces in West Indies' 15-man squad for the five-match ODI series in India. Both did well in the current Regional Super50 limited-overs competition, paving the way for their insertion. Mohammed won the Player of the Tournament honours in addition to the Richie Richardson Trophy after topping the run-charts with 227 runs in five outings.

Haynes also said that Narine's steady development over the past year earned him a spot. "Sunil bowled well in the Indian circumstances in Champions League for Trinidad and Tobago and then in the Super50 he was exceptional," Haynes said. "Batsmen have difficulty reading him and we thought that he is deserving of his selection to show his value against international batsmen.

"He is also a capable lower-order batsman who can give the team 30 to 40 runs and overall we are impressed with the way he approaches batting both for Trinidad and Tobago and in the recent West Indies A Team match in St Lucia." Darren Sammy will lead the West Indies side in the series, which kicks off on November 30 in Cuttack. Chris Gayle continual to miss out on selection, while Dwayne Bravo, who was dropped on form for the Bangladesh tour, was also left out.

Squad: Darren Sammy (capt), Adrian Barath, Darren Bravo, Danza Hyatt, Anthony Martin, Jason Mohammed, Sunil Narine, Kieron Pollard, Kieran Powell, Denesh Ramdin (wk), Ravi Rampaul, Kemar Roach, Andre Russell, Marlon Samuels, Lendl Simmons

After being down and out in the first innings in Delhi, India came out combating in their second essay to script a complete victory on a spin-friendly wicket. Where Pragyan Ojha spun the visitors out with his orthodox left-arm spin in the first innings, it was Ravichandran Ashwin who tied the opposition in knots with his off spinners and carom balls in the second. Kolkata, which usually favours spinners like most other Indian tracks, it will once again come down to the clash between the two Indian spinners and the inexperienced West Indies batsmen.

The pace duo of Ishant Sharma and Umesh Yadav may end up performing a supporting role like they did in the first Test. As all the Indian batsmen, barring Yuvraj Singh and MS Dhoni, spent substantial time in the middle it's hard to see any changes in the batting department. But for Yuvraj, the next four innings, or the next two, depending upon his performance, could well decide how his Test future pans out.

Darren Bravo, another batsman in the Windies top order, is due for runs. And considering the skills and Lara-like demeanour the Trinidadian possesses, he will be eager to get going in Kolkata. Ravi Rampaul, despite having a good last year, could be the only causality in the West Indies camp, with the more sharp Kemar Roach waiting in the wings.

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Date	Match	Place	Time
Nov 6 - Nov 10	First Test	Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi	09:30
Nov 14 – Nov 18	Second Test	Eden Gardens, Kolkata	09:30
Nov 22 – Nov 26	Third Test	Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai	09:30
Nov 29	First ODI	Barabati Stadium, Cuttack	14:30 D/N
Dec 2	Second ODI	Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy Stadium, Visakhapatnam	14:30 D/N
Dec 5	Third ODI	Sardar Patel Stadium, Motera, Ahmedabad	14:30 D/N
Dec 8	Fourth ODI	Holkar Cricket Stadium, Indore	14:30 D/N
Dec 11	Fifth ODI	MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chepauk, Chennai	14:30 D/N

Adrian Barath has been included in West Indies Test squad for their tour of India after improving from a hamstring injury. Lendl Simmons, who replaced Barath for the Tests in Bangladesh after Barath injured himself during the ODIs, will return to the West Indies. Simmons had a run of poor form in home Tests against Pakistan and India this year but was recalled to the side after scoring a century and a half-century in the first and second ODIs in Bangladesh.

He failed in the Chittagong Test and young openers Kraigg Brathwaite and Kieran Powell, who both scored half-centuries in the first innings of the Mirpur Test, have been integrated in the squad ahead of him. Barath started the home series against India in June with a half-century but failed to change starts thereafter. The middle order is a settled one, while Denesh Ramdin continues to be in the squad as a second wicketkeeper.

Shane Shillingford and Devendra Bishoo are the two spinners in the squad, which includes three quicks and the captain Darren Sammy. The first Test between India and West Indies begins November 6 in Delhi. It will be followed by Tests in Kolkata and Mumbai, after which there will be a five-match ODI series.

Squad: Darren Sammy (capt), Adrian Barath, Carlton Baugh (wk), Devendra Bishoo, Kraigg Brathwaite, Darren Bravo, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Fidel Edwards, Kirk Edwards, Kieran Powell, Denesh Ramdin (wk), Ravi Rampaul, Kemar Roach, Marlon Samuels, Shane Shillingford

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