THE FINAL BLOW: Dwayne Bravo rejoices after delivering at the crunch for the West Indies. — Photos: AP

Kingston: It finally snapped. And when it did, freezing the world record for chases at 17, it was to neither a gargantuan total nor a demon opposition. West Indies though will contest the second bit. The streak met its end at the hands of a middling target — one of those infuriatingly tough ones to chase — and a low slower ball. And one piffling run.

Dwayne Bravo, who had bowled three overs for 20, delved into his armoury and pulled out the perfect ball when it mattered. He set off on a curving run, arms extended sideways — a run that may have wended its way to the sea had his mates not intervened with bear hugs. If Bravo was motion and unrestrained joy, Yuvraj Singh was stillness and bitter disappointment. On his haunches mid-pitch, he grabbed his helmet's visor.

Great innings

Yuvraj (93, 121b, 8x4, 1x6) had almost single-handedly brought his team within striking range. India needed to make 11 in the last over. Munaf, somehow, got one — edge, pad and will.

The left-handed Yuvraj edged one almost through wicketkeeper Baugh, and then unveiled the most perfectly placed cover drive. Two of three. Lara kept four men in the ring.

"To be honest I was looking for the tie," Lara said later. "I was hoping he'd get a single so I could pressure Patel."

Bravo, Gayle, and Lara conferred. "Gayle came up and said the slower ball could do the trick," said the West Indies skipper. "It was in Bravo's mind, and he's got it in his arsenal."

The match, which saw the home side even the series 1-1, was, as they say in football, a game of two parts. A match in which alternate waves of blue and maroon rippled through the crowd. India dominated the first half; West Indies pulled it back in the dying stages of the second.

India's defeat owed itself to a few factors — none more important than intemperate shot selection.

The visiting batsmen hit far too many in the air for their own good, a point Dravid made later.

The slowness of the track contributed to at least one dismissal (Dhoni chopping it on), but what went almost unnoticed was Lara's astute captaincy.

Much like his opposite number, the man from Trinidad threw the new ball to another man. Bradshaw responded with six overs for 22 and the crucial wickets of Sehwag and Dravid.

The former got one that stopped on him — a brilliant catch diving forward at point ended his stay. The latter's bat was drawn to one courtesy the left-armer's angle like Garfield to anchovy.

Lara initially employed a two-and-two field for Samuels and Gayle, but put an extra man on the off-side when he saw the singles trickling in.

Through these two, tall fastish off-spinners, he applied tourniquets of pressure, striking the right balance between attack and defence. Soon the balls required caught up with the runs needed, triggering strokes of desperation.

Overs 44, 45, 46, and 47 saw just 11 runs; a wicket fell as well. And most crucially, when the moment came, Lara backed his instincts and went with Bravo — "He's a very, very special player. He may have bowled three overs for a bit, but he's the kind of guy you need in the side," said Lara.

Terrible start

Earlier, Agarkar and Pathan struck as West Indies slumped to 24 for three.

Harbhajan claimed Chanderpaul's wicket before Sarwan and Marlon Samuels attempted to steady things. The pair put on 60 — the only half-century partnership of the innings.

Wicketkeeper Baugh hit out when not lapping behind, to inject much needed urgency. Sarwan upped his pace as well. Despite being on 105 for six from 36 overs at one stage, the islanders finished with 198 for nine, illustrating the benefit of playing 50 overs. It turned out to be crucial.

Exceptional knock: Dravid

The second ODI saw two of the finest nineties one will chance upon. Ramnaresh Sarwan's unbeaten 98 ensured West Indies batted 50 overs and gave itself a chance. Yuvraj Singh's 93 almost took India to glory — an innings of skill and thought when others were losing their heads.

"I thought Yuvi batted beautifully," said Dravid. "His knock's quality deserved to win it for India. But, all credit to Bravo who bowled a brilliant ball under pressure. Yuvi has played so many such knocks in recent times that it's hard to rate it, but this was exceptional. At one stage, we looked like we didn't have a chance, and from there to give us a shot at winning was outstanding."

The West Indian skipper termed Sarwan's knock "extra-ordinary", pronouncing each syllable deliberately for emphasis. "When I was batting with him, I told him that if one of us stays till the 50th over and plays our natural game, we'll have a competitive total."

Sarwan said he had looked to do just that — follow his captain's instructions. "It wasn't easy batting out there, it was hard work," said the right-hander. "The way Carlton batted took some of the pressure off me."

Why did he take so long to get going? Was it because he had told himself to play the 50 overs or because the Indians bowled well? "Bit of both," Sarwan said with a laugh. "They bowled pretty well, and it was tough to get the ball off the square."

Sarwan said he was looking to continue in the same vein and contribute to keeping West Indies cricket moving forward.

"The legacy we have motivated me and it hurts when we can't maintain it. So, it's been one of my goals to help West Indies cricket."

Both Lara and Dravid said the wicket wasn't the problem. "It was a 235-240 wicket to be honest," said the Indian skipper.

"On Thursday it got better in the second half, and it was still a good wicket when we batted. It was a good close game of cricket with good bowling and fielding from both sides."

Granted the streak of chases had to stop. But, why was it chasing 199? "Well, you know someone said in the dressing room that these small totals are a bit tricky," said Dravid.

"You lose a few early wickets and it sets off butterflies in your stomach. We needed to be 80 or 100 for one in 15 overs, and then it would have gone well. But, unfortunately we lost early wickets."

On Greg Chappell completing a year as Indian coach, Dravid said, "He's been fantastic to work with. Both personally and from the team's view. He's brought some great ideas. He's given us perspective. We don't jump up and down if we lose, we don't jump up and down if we win. We just concentrate on getting better where we need to."

SCOREBOARD

West Indies: C. Gayle c Dhoni b Agarkar 0, R. Morton lbw b Pathan 1, R. Sarwan (not out) 98, B. Lara c Dravid b Pathan 14, S. Chanderpaul c Kaif b Harbhajan 10, M. Samuels c Dhoni b Yuvraj 19, D. Bravo c Raina b Powar 0, C. Baugh c Pathan b Powar 21, I. Bradshaw c Harbhajan b Pathan 12, J. Taylor c Dhoni b Agarkar 9, F. Edwards (not out) 1; Extras (lb-2, nb-3, w-8) 13; Total (for nine wkts. in 50 overs) 198.

Fall of wickets: 1-1, 2-1, 3-24, 4-43, 5-103, 6-105, 7-143, 8-163, 9-197.

India bowling: Pathan 9-2-45-3, Agarkar 10-2-25-2, Harbhajan 10-0-32-1, Munaf 7-1-39-0, Powar 10-0-38-2, Yuvraj 4-0-17-1.

Power Play 1 (1-10): 22/2; PP2 (11-15): 15/1; PP3 (16-20): 17/1.

India: R. Dravid c Baugh b Bradshaw 11, V. Sehwag c (sub-Smith) b Bradshaw 12, I. Pathan c Samuels b Edwards 14, Y. Singh b Bravo 93, M. Kaif c (sub-Smith) b Taylor 4, S. Raina c Chanderpaul b Samuels 27, M.S. Dhoni b Taylor 2, A. Agarkar c & b Bradshaw 2, R. Powar c Taylor b Samuels 12, Harbhajan c & b Gayle 1, M. Patel (not out) 2; Extras (lb-4, nb-5, w-8) 17; Total (in 49.4 overs) 197.

Fall of wickets: 1-25, 2-37, 3-51, 4-60, 5-124, 6-130, 7-134, 8-177, 9-187.

West Indies bowling: Edwards 7-2-19-1, Bradshaw 10-0-33-3, Taylor 9-0-49-2, Bravo 3.4-0-29-1, Gayle 10-0-33-1, Samuels 10-0-30-2.

PP1 (1-10): 39/2; PP2 (11-15): 16/1; PP3 (16-20): 15/1.

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