Dharamsala, October 17
Despite a challenging chase of 330-plus total, despite Virat Kohli scoring a breathtaking 127, despite West Indies dropping five catches, despite the match turning out to be a series decider, the spunk was missing from the match.

By the time India finished with 330 on board, the match threatened to be a one-sided affair. To make a contest out of it, West Indies required something that they had done never before — achieve a 300plus target in ODIs. To make matters worse, the visitors were supposed to anchor the third tallest chase in India. The visitors were clearly not in the right frame of mind to do it. Since the morning, they were eager to get their flight back home.

Suddenly Marlon Samuels had a change of heart and took the fight to India. His 112-run knock just about brought West Indies home. The seven sixes and six fours he struck brought the crowd, who had been cheering vociferously for him on the cold dewy night, to their feet.

Given the steep climb in asking rate it was well-nigh impossible. Just as Samuels had delighted the fans with his stroke play, his dismissal too brought the final cheer on every Indian face. Mohammed Shami uprooted his off stump, bringing an end to a topsy-turvy match in the 49th over.

The result: India beat West Indies by 59 runs to clinch the fourth ODI and also clinched the curtailed series with 2-1 margin. For those who were of the opinion that the West Indies tour of India was designed to give India a feel-good factor, that belief, more or less, seemed to have been strengthened.

West Indies had just one plan — pepper India with short stuff on a lively wicket. Once that ploy failed, the Caribbeans had no Plan B. Their last 10 overs cost them 94 runs, which made all the difference.

Virat Kohli and Suresh Raina (71) capitalized on these mistakes and notched up a 138-run partnership. Kohli played aggressively, scoring 127 runs in 114 balls with 13 fours and three sixes. The duo has averaged 69.7 together in the last three years. This is the highest for any ODI pair with at least 20 partnerships. The last two games, Delhi and Dharamsala, show how these two batsmen complement each other. In Delhi, Raina was more aggressive, Kohli hurried up only towards the end. In Dharamsala, Kohli was in killer mood hitting 13 fours and three sixes on his way to 127 (114 balls). Raina here took the cue and played the second lead scoring 71 in 58 balls. In the third ODI their partnership for the fourth wicket was of 105.

The average partnership runs between Virat Kohli and Suresh Raina in ODIs has been in excess of 55.4. This is the fourth best for any India pair who have played 30 or more ODIs. With such a dominating middle order winning home games is no big deal.

Scoreboard

India

Rahane lbw b Benn 68

Dhawan c Bravo b Russell 35

Kohli run out 127

Raina c Ramdin b Taylor 71

Dhoni run out 6

Jadeja c Russell b Holder 2

Rayudu not out 12

Extras (lb 6, w 3) 9

Total (6 wickets; 50 overs) 330

Fall of wickets: 1-70, 2-142, 3-280, 4-290, 5-300, 6-330

Bowling

Taylor 9-0-77-1

Holder 9-0-52-1

Russell 7-0-48-1

Benn 8-0-30-1

Samuels 10-0-54-0

Bravo 6-0-51-0

Pollard 1-0-12-0

West Indies

Smith c Shami b Yadav 0

Bravo b Patel 40

Pollard c Dhawan b Kumar 6

Samuels b Shami 112

Ramdin c Patel b Jadeja 9

D Bravo lbw b Jadeja 0

Sammy c & b Patel 16

Russell b Yadav 46

Holder c Raina b Kumar 11

Taylor b Shami 11

Benn not out 1

Extras (lb 10, w 9) 19

Total (all out; 48.1 overs) 271

Fall of wickets: 1-1, 2-27, 3-83, 4-120, 5-121, 6-165, 7-222, 8-239, 9-260, 10-271

Bowling

Kumar 10-2-25-2

Yadav 9-0-44-2

Shami 9.1-0-72-2

Kohli 1-0-14-0

Patel 10-1-26-2

Jadeja 9-1-80-2

Dharamsala, October 17
The ongoing India-West Indies series has been called off abruptly due to a pay dispute between the West Indies players and their cricket board (WICB).

After today's match, which the visitors agreed to play after a great deal of persuasion, one One-day International, one T20 International and three Test matches were scheduled to be played between the two teams.

The Indian cricket board (BCCI) has roped in Sri Lanka to fill in, scheduling five ODIs against them next month.

The West Indies players decided to call off the tour following no headway being made in the pay dispute between the WICB and the West Indies Players Association (WIPA).

BCCI secretary Sanjay Patel confirmed the decision: “They have withdrawn the team abruptly. We received an email from West Indies team manager Richie Richardson this morning.”

The pay dispute flared up again, barely hours before the start of the fourth ODI. Sources revealed that the entire West Indies team backed out of playing the match. But a closed-door meeting between the two team managements — and including BCCI officials, including its joint secretary Anurag Thakur — got the show going.

Skipper Dwayne Bravo chose the toss to make a statement. Having won the toss and elected to bowl first, the West Indies skipper said: “My team is standing behind me. It's been a tough tour for us. We don't want cricket to suffer and we don't want our fans to suffer. It's time to make a decision, though. Must give credit to my boys for all the fight they've put up.”

The team was indeed standing behind him, all players filing in a neat row to make their point.

The BCCI expressed shock and extreme disappointment over the abrupt end to the tour. “The WICB's inability to resolve internal issues with its players and allowing the same to affect an ongoing bilateral series does not reflect well on any of those involved. The withdrawal gives little thought to the future of the game, the players and the long standing relations between the BCCI and the WICB,” a BCCI statement said.

But more than the shock and disappointment, it is the BCCI'S wrath that is bound to have serious repercussions for the WICB.

Dharamsala, October 17
The Diwali season may have kept the flow of spectators from Punjab low, but the crowd at the match was still quite impressive. Most stands, except the premium ones, were filled to capacity.

The Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association’s endeavour to sell the tickets at half rate since yesterday paid dividends as a large number of locals came out to see the match. The HPCA also distributed free passes to the locals today, due to which the stadium was filled up to 90 percent of its capacity. The stadium has a seating capacity of around 20,000. The town’s population is just around 50,000, so the large attendance was very impressive. Most of the low cost (Rs 250) seats reserved for the students were sold out.

Visitors from Punjab have thronged the city during the IPL matches in the past, but this time the number of visitors was low due to the Diwali season. The tourism sector, expecting a busy weekend, was disappointed. Vikas, a local hotelier, said: “We expected a packed weekend but most of the spectators who came from the adjoining states restricted their stay to just one day. Most of them are leaving tomorrow and rooms would be vacant for the weekend.”

The district administrative officials played a role in the smooth conduct of the match, and no traffic jams were witnessed in the town, unlike the past. Tibetan spiritual head the Dalai Lama was the chief guest for the match.

Lahli, October 17
Jharkhand left-hander Saurabh Tiwary notched up a well-made century as East Zone came up with a sporting declaration to hand a 238-run target for West Zone on the third day of the Duleep Trophy four-day quarterfinal, here today.

Saurabh's 109 helped East rise from their 44-run deficit in the second innings to declare on 281 for seven in the final session of play. West were 12 for one at close of play, requiring another 226 runs to win on the final day's play. Starting the day on 321 for nine, the West innings' wrapped up on 322 in response to East's first innings score of 278.

Medium-pacer Rana Dutta (5-60) had already bagged a fifer on the second day while Basant Mohanty (2-76), who picked up the first wicket of the day, and Ashoke Dinda (2-92) picked up two wickets each. But the 181-run fourth-wicket partnership between Saurabh and Sudip Chatterjee (99) was the highlight of the day as rest of the East batting failed to counter the West bowling led by Dhawal Kulkarni (4-28). Chatterjee was unlucky to miss out on his century after being run out by Shardul Thakur (2-70), who also brought Saurabh's downfall in the 76th over of the innings and soon skipper Manoj Tiwary called the players back.

The West Zone openers Aditya Tare (5 not out) and Vijay Zol (6) started cautiousl, but Dinda cleaned up Zol to bring to end the day's play. — PTI

Vienna, October 17
Andy Murray and David Ferrer stayed in the race for the year-end ATP finals as both of the leading seeds won their opening matches at the Austrian Open on Thursday.

Tournament number one Ferrer, who cannot increase his points unless he reaches the Sunday final at the Stadthalle, opened in the second round after a bye with a 7-5, 6-1 defeat of Tobias Kamke.

Second seed Murray, a debutant in the Austrian capital, defeated Canadian Vasek Pospisil 6-4, 6-4.

Ferrer stands provisional ninth in the points race to the World Tour Finals next month in London; Murray is trailing on tenth. With eighth-placed Canadian Milos Raonic losing his opening match in Moscow due to illness, the sprint to the finish over the season is only tightening for the three remaining spots in the eight-man field. Ferrer is not one to worry about that just now though - he faces a more immediate task when he plays a Friday quarter-final against Croatian serving machine Ivo Karlovic.

"Even if Milos lost, it doesn't help my chances," said the 32-year-old. "Murray is behind me, but not by much. If I lose tomorrow, I'm in exactly the same position as Milos. I now can only focus on my next match, a very difficult one."

Ferrer is playing Vienna for the first time in a decade and earned his first victory form three matches here. "It's been a long time, in 2003 here I lost the first of many matches against Roger Federer - and I still have not won one against him." — Agencies

Mumbai, October 17
In what could be termed as the Maharashtra Indian Super League derby, Mumbai City FC and FC Pune City will lock horns in Mumbai on Saturday with both teams seeking a win after an unimpressive start in the franchise-based football tournament.

Both were winless in their lung openers played away from home even though Pune emerged with a single point after the goalless draw against Delhi Dynamos while Mumbai were thrashed 3-0 by Athletico de Kolkata in the inaugural match.

Both teams, thus, would be eager to get their campaigns back on track with a victory in front of a big crowd witnessing a top-level football competition for the first time in this satellite town.

While Mumbai, co-owned by Bollywood star Ranbir Kapoor and Bimal Parekh, did not get the desired result on the first day of the tournament, there were quite a few positives that the team could take from the encounter.

Despite the absence of their marquee players Freddie Ljungberg of Sweden and Frenchman Nicolas Anelka, the team had 57 per cent possession in the game and had more shots on goal than their opponents. The team management would be hoping to utilise the services of Ljungberg on their home turf — D Y Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai, better known for hosting IPL cricket matches in the past — which could make a big difference. — Agencies

Barcelona, October 17
Lionel Messi may lack a World Cup for Argentina but his 10 years with Barcelona have seen him become symbolic with the club’s golden era. Long before Messi made his debut for the Catalan club, coming on as a late substitute in the local derby with Espanyol on Oct. 16, 2004, aged 17, news had spread that Barca had an extraordinary player in their renowned La Masia youth academy.

Newspapers in Spain had reported that there was an Argentine youngster who could be the new Maradona, but few would have imagined what an impact he would make. The fact he arrived in Barcelona at all is thanks to the perseverance of his father Jorge, who having exhausted the options of clubs in Argentina, that would not pay or could not afford the growth hormone treatment the diminutive Lionelneeded, looked overseas to Spain.

Barcelona’s then technical director Carles Rexach needed little time to be convinced by the 13-year-old’s potential and famously scribbled a quick contract.

From there Messi, now 27, quickly passed through the youth ranks before he made his first-team debut. His first goal came with a delicate chip in his sixth appearance in the final game of the season against Albacete.

He went on to be named player of the tournament as Argentina won the 2005 Uunder-20 World Championship.

At Barca, he was initially in the shadow of Ronaldinho but he quickly established himself as team leader as the Brazilian’s career at Barca ended prematurely.

It was following the arrival of Pep Guardiola as coach in 2008 that Messi really came to the fore. Barca went on to win three successive league titles as well as the Champions League in 2009 and 2011.

On a personal level Messi has been voted World Player of the Year on four occasions and has a breathtaking scoring record. It includes hitting 73 goals in the 2011-12 season, over 400 goals for club and country. He’s now closing in on the all-time Spanish scoring record. — Reuters

BRIEFLY

India go down to Iran in AFC women's championship
Dhaka: The Under-16 Indian women's football team, ahead by a solitary goal for the majority of the match, conceded two late second half strikes to go down to Iran 1-2 in their first group match of the 2015 Asian Football Confederation's (AFC) Women's Championship qualifiers at the Bangabandhu Stadium here on Friday. The Iranian substitute, Fatemeh Hosseni, scored two late goals — in the 71 and the 87 minutes — to overturn India's lead in a Group B match, obtained by midfielder Premi Chiru on 13 minutes. "The girls played well. But Iran were too good in the second half. I believe we can come back as this is just our first game. We need to keep focus for 90 minutes in the next game," Maymol Rocky, India head coach, said after the match.

Ramkumar sends Ti Chen packing, reach semis
Indore: Continuing his excellent run at the ATP Indore Open, Indian youngster Ramkumar Ramanathan toppled Chinese Taipei Davis Cupper Ti Chen in a marathon contest to reach his first-ever Challenger-level semifinal, here today. After knocking out India's No. 2 Yuki Bhambri, 19-year-old Ramkumar today played humdinger of a quarterfinal, which he won 6-7(6) 7-6(2) 7-5 after battling hard for three hours and 16 minutes. He next faces compatriot Saketh Myneni, who beat his Asian Games silver medal winning partner Sanam Singh 7-6 (5) 6-3 in his quarterfinal.

Chowrasia, Randhawa tied fifth at Hong Kong
Hong kong: Indian golfer S S P Chowrasia shot a five-under 65 to move to tied fifth place at the midway stage of the Hong Kong Open today. Chowrasia, whose last Asian and European Tour win came in 2011, is now tied alongside Jyoti Randhawa, the overnight leader. Randhawa, who had a 64 in first round, shot an even par 70. Both Chowrasia, who shot 69 in the first round, and Randhawa are now six-under 134 and only three off the leader, Ernie Els (65), meanwhile, celebrated his 45th birthday by going into sole lead.— Agencies