Holder scalps five as Windies makes lethargic India pay

Jason Holder, the Windies captain, led from the front with a five-wicket haul as his side snatched an 11-run win over India in the fourth One-Day International in Antigua on Sunday.

India came into the match at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium leading 2-0 in the series and was set a modest target of 190 to maintain its unbeaten run in this short campaign. However, the visitor was undone by a combination of disciplined bowling and its own inexplicable lethargy at the crease.

That pedestrian progress was typified by Mahendra Singh Dhoni's painstaking innings of 54 off 114 deliveries – the slowest of his 64 ODI half-centuries – before he fell off the last ball of the 49th over, bowled by Kesrick Williams.

That left India needing 14 runs off the final over with only two wickets in hand. It was Williams's only success of a miserly ten-over spell, but proved critical even as Holder sealed the win.

The captain dismissed Kuldeep Yadav and Mohammed Shami in the space of four balls to finish with 5 for 27, his best-ever ODI figures as India folded for 178.

The home side thus kept the series alive heading into the fifth and final match in Kingston on Thursday.

Alzarri Joseph, the young fast bowler brought into the team in place of medium-pacer Miguel Cummins, set the tone for the fightback with the wickets of Shikhar Dhawan and Dinesh Karthik.

Holder removed Virat Kohli, for the second time in as many matches via a top-edged hook.

Earlier, pacers Umesh Yadav and Hardik Pandya claimed three wickets each while Kuldeep again teased and tormented the Windies batsmen in adding two more victims to his series haul as the hosts limped to 189 for 9 batting first.

While each of the top five managed to get a start, none could get past 35 as India exerted almost complete control over a line-up that lacked the inspirational spark to put the opposition under pressure.

Evin Lewis and Kyle Hope, the openers, were the joint top scorers with 35 apiece although their slow progress – the opening stand of 57 was broken in the 18th over – meant those who followed were required to pick up the pace.

None managed to do so for any sustained period with Pandya and Kuldeep doing the bulk of the damage to the line-up.

Umesh then ensured there was to be no threat from the reputed lower-order big-hitters as he accounted for Holder, Rovman Powell and Ashley Nurse in his second spell.

India had rung the changes for this match with Karthik replacing Yuvraj Singh in the middle order, Ravindra Jadeja coming in instead of R Ashwin and Shami making his first ODI appearance since the 2015 World Cup as Bhuvneshwar Kumar was rested.