Bravo stars as West Indies pile on 575

West Indies 575 for 9 (Bravo 166, Edwards 86, Powell 81, Samuels 61, Ashwin 4-154) v India
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

	Darren Bravo and Kieran Powell added 160 for the fourth wicket © AFP

Smart stats The West Indies innings featured three centurypartnerships. This is the 12th time since 1990 and the seventh time since 2000 that West Indies have had three century stands in an innings. Two of those occasions have been in matches against India. R Ashwin's tally of 4 for 154 off 51 overs meant that it is the sixth time that an India bowler has conceded more than 150 runs in an innings in Tests played in 2011. The highest is 170 conceded by Amit Mishra at The Oval. It is the first time for West Indies and the fifth time overall that the top six batsmen have made fifty-plusscores. The previous two occasions this happened were also against India, in Colombo (SSC) and Centurion. West Indies' total of 575 is seventh on the list of their highest scores against India in matches played in India. The 160-run stand between Darren Bravo and Kieran Powell is the fourth-highest fifth-wicket stand for West Indies in Tests in India. Darren Bravo's 166 is the fourth-highest score by avisiting batsman in Tests in Mumbai. Clive Lloyd, Alvin Kallicharran and Graeme Hick are above Bravo on the list. MS Dhoni, who equalled Kiran More's record of five dismissals in an innings against West Indies, went past Syed Kirmani's tally of 36 dismissals against West Indies.

The talk before the start of the Test had been about West Indies' line-up having only seven centuries on their resume while India's boasted 20 times as many, but two days into the match it was the less-decorated batting unit that had put on 575 for 9. Darren Bravo crafted his third hundred in four Tests to lead the way, while Kirk Edwards and Kieran Powell were left to rue missing centuries on a shirtfront at the Wankhede.

Marlon Samuels partook in the run-fest after tea, to make it only the fifth time in Test history that each of the top six made half-centuries. Varun Aaron, the debutant fast bowler who was ordinary for much of the innings, showed plenty of tenacity to bowl a quick spell even as West Indies' total swelled past 500, earning three wickets to spark a late collapse.

The tone for the day was set by Bravo, who caressed the first two deliveries of the morning between the bowler, Aaron, and mid-off for four. West Indies plundered 111 runs before lunch, after which India went completely on the defensive, spreading the field, and giving the part-timers, Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar, extended spells. The strategy reduced the boundaries but there was no flagging of the run-rate, as an untroubled West Indies marched towards 500.

Like on Tuesday, there was little to encourage India's fast bowlers. Bravo showed how easy the track was to bat on as he pulled an Aaron bouncer wide of mid-on for four. His partner Edwards continued to showcase his driving skills, and a muscular style that favours the on-side. Edwards was more tentative than Bravo and he eventually fell short of a third Test century when he nicked a short-of-length ball to the keeper, giving Ishant Sharma reward for a long, tight spell.

That brought in Powell, who started shakily - getting knocked on the back of his helmet by Ishant off the first delivery he faced. That didn't faze the 21-year-old Powell, though, and he showed off his footwork against spin, dishing out a boundary an over. Powell initially dominated his partnership with the well-set Bravo, making his intentions clear early on by charging and lofting offspinner R Ashwin over his head, a stroke he repeated several times against the spinners.

Bravo was briefly starved of the strike when Powell got going, but he didn't lose his rhythm. He continued to favour the off side, using the graceful back-foot punch between cover and point heavily. His century came up with a slice past cover for four a few overs before lunch. There was no Lara-like leap in the air to celebrate the milestone this time, just a kiss of the bat and wave of the cap.

There were a couple of close calls for the West Indies batsmen after lunch: two overs in, Powell was nearly run out by MS Dhoni, and in the next over Bravo nicked a delivery between the keeper and leg slip. That raised India's hopes, but the breakthrough remained elusive. One of the few times the paltry crowd found its voice again was when their favourite, Tendulkar, was brought on to bowl.

With minimal risk, Powell and Bravo collected the singles, hardly hassled by the spinners, who sent down an astonishing 22 overs in the hour after lunch. A maiden century for Powell seemed inevitable, but he was caught behind for 81 off a quicker delivery from Pragyan Ojha, ending a partnership of 160.

Dhoni brought on the fast bowlers to attack the new batsman, Samuels, but though there were a couple of outside edges, Ishant slanted the ball too often into the pads to gift easy runs. Bravo was unflustered as ever, continuing past 150 to have a maiden double-century in his sights. He didn't get there, though, as his innings ended on 166, giving Dhoni a catch while chasing a slightly wide delivery after tea.

That strike sparked a rare period of Indian dominance, with five wickets going down for 48 runs. Aaron and R Ashwin did the damage for India in that spell, during which Samuels unleashed some eye-catching drives to reach his half-century. An awaited declaration didn't come on the day, and neither could India bowl out West Indies, which meant Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir didn't have to bat after spending almost two entire days in the field. © ESPN EMEA Ltd.

India win by innings despite Bravo ton

India 631 for 7 decl. (Laxman 176*, Dhoni 144, Dravid 119) beat West Indies 153 (Ojha 4-64, Yadav 3-23) and (f/o) 463 (Bravo 136, Samuels 84, Yadav 4-80) by an innings and 15 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

	Even in his celebration routine, Darren Bravo was reminiscent of Brian Lara © AFP

Darren Bravo's resolute century, which left him with statistics identical to Brian Lara's at the end of 12 Tests, wasn't enough to deny India an innings win. Bravo, Marlon Samuels and Shivnarine Chanderpaul made India work hard on the fourth day, and took West Indies to their highest score following on. India preferred to wait for mistakes, which said a lot about the huge lead they had and the state of the pitch: a slow turner. When West Indies did make the mistake, Rahul Dravid was superb at slip to kickstart a collapse of four for 20.

Given their recent form, not many were expecting a big fightback from West Indies, and according to unconfirmed reports Kolkata's Jadhavpur University Complex, where Sourav Ganguly is playing a Ranji Trophy match, attracted a bigger crowd than Eden Gardens. They missed an attractive century from Bravo. Resuming on 38 he kept batting like he did yesterday. With the fields spread he kept picking the singles, and whenever MS Dhoni looked to attack he sent the fields back with calculated risks. He added 15 fours and a six to his boundary count on the fourth day.

India began the day trying to keep things quiet until the new ball became due. The pitch had become slow, and allowed the batsmen enough time to recover even if they were beaten in the flight. There was only one hiccup, potentially a big one, in the 18 overs before the new ball was taken. Bravo pushed towards mid-off and set off immediately, Chanderpaul never moved. With the batsmen now capable of whispering to each other at the non-striker's end, Gambhir threw on the run. A weak and wide throw ensued, allowing Bravo to get back.

The new ball immediately produced more excitement. Bravo hit the first over for two fours, but also edged one. Soft hands and the slowness of the pitch, though, made sure it didn't carry to slip. In the fourth over with the new ball, against the run of play, Chanderpaul got a bottom edge when he looked to push Umesh Yadav. A sterner examination followed for Marlon Samuels. Ishant Sharma hit him on the forearm with a short one, and was nearly played on soon.

Smart stats India's series win is their third against West Indies at home after their 1-0 win in 1978 and 2-0 win in 2002. The innings victory is only the second for India against West Indies. The previous one came in Mumbai in 2002. West Indies' innings defeat is their 11th in Tests since 2000. In contrast, between 1980 and 1995, they suffered just two innings defeats. West Indies' total of 463 is their highest second-inningstotal against India going past the 443 for 7 scored in Kanpur in 1958. On that occasion, West Indies won by 203 runs. Darren Bravo scored his second century in 12 Tests to go with six half-centuries. His stats after 12 matches (941 runs at 47.05) are exactly the same as Brian Lara's numbers after 12 matches. The 132-run stand between Bravo and Marlon Samuels is seventh on the list of fifth-wicket stands for West Indies in India. Samuels' 84 is his third-highest score against India and his first half-century in nine innings. His previous half-century came against India in Barbados when he made 78.

At the other end Bravo went strong. With the new ball likely to travel faster, his strike-rate improved too. Against the new ball, he went from 67 to 100 in 35 balls. For the rare few who might not have noticed the resemblance, upon reaching the century he leapt in the air just like Lara used to. By now Samuels had become surer, and despite India's defensive fields, the two kept scoring swiftly.

With the deficit in two figures, and once again against the run of play, Bravo opened the face to one from Ojha. The ball didn't turn as much as expected, and went low to Dravid's right at first slip. Pouched. Bravo and Lara after 12 Tests: 941 runs at 47.05. India were back now. Six overs later Ojha produced an edge from Carlton Baugh. Dravid dived full length to his right and completed the low catch. Perhaps his batting has rubbed off onto his catching form in the slips, which hasn't quite been up to his usual standards over the last two years.

Next it was Samuels' turn to make the fatal mistake. He stayed back to a quick offbreak from R Ashwin, and was hit in front, deep in the crease, 16 short of what would have been another attractive century. An unorthodox offspinner, Ashwin proceeded to produce the classical offie's dismissal, when he got one to drift away from Kemar Roach, and then sneak through the gap produced.

Darren Sammy swung a few hits, but he only delayed the inevitable. Minutes before tea, Umesh Yadav finished the game and gave India the series by rattling the stumps with successive balls. © ESPN EMEA Ltd.

Bravo blasts Chennai Super Kings to victory

Chennai Super Kings 146 for 6 (Bravo 45*, Duminy 4-20) beat Cape Cobras 145 for 7 (Shah 45, Bravo 2-23) by four wickets

Chennai Super Kings got their title defence back on track with a chase that covered the spectrum from blue to yellow and all the colours in between against Cape Cobras. Michael Hussey got the pursuit of 146 off to a positive start, but JP Duminy wrested the advantage and put the Cape Cobras in the pound seat. MS Dhoni and Dwayne Bravo's 43-run partnership helped Chennai recover but Vernon Philander dismissed Dhoni to give the Cobras another sniff. Then, Bravo made a mockery of Dale Steyn, scoring 17 runs off his last over, the 19th of the innings, to paint the Chidamabaram Stadium in the colour of the home team.

Knee injury rules Dwayne Bravo out of World Cup

The West Indies suffered a major setback as all-rounder Dwayne Bravo was Friday ruled out of the World Cup with a knee injury.

In pic: Dwayne Bravo was helped from the field after injuring his knee © AFP

"He has been ruled out due to cartilage damage in the left knee," a West Indies team official confirmed.

The West Indies have already petitioned the International Cricket Council's technical committee for a replacement.

Bravo twisted his knee as he slipped on his follow through while bowling during the match against South Africa here Thursday.

Bravo immediately went off the field and was attended to by the physio. He did not return to the feild.

After a scan Friday, it emerged that he will need at least four weeks of rest to recover from the injury.

He is the third West Indies player to be ruled out of the World Cup. Wicketkeeper Carlton Baugh and opening batsman Adrian Barath were injured in the warm-up matches and were replaced by Devon Thomas and Kirk Edrwards.

The West Indies lost the first match against Sout Africa by seven wickets and face The Netherlands (Feb 28, Delhi), Bangladesh (March 4, Dhaka), Ireland (March 11, Mohali), England (March 17, Chennai) and India (March 20, Chennai). —IANS

Darren Bravo stars on rain-marred day

West Indies 134 for 2 (Darren Bravo 63*, Smith 55) v Sri Lanka

Half-centuries from Darren Bravo and Devon Smith took West Indies to 134 for 2 on a rain-affected first day of the first-ever Test at the Pallekele Stadium. Play began in dramatic fashion when Suranga Lakmal removed Chris Gayle with the day's first delivery but only 40 overs were possible in the day. A wet outfield delayed the start of the match, and a heavy burst of rain just after lunch and bad light in the evening contributed to the shortened day.

Darren Bravo continued to impress on his maiden tour, stroking three boundaries to get his innings started. A glide through cover off Angelo Mathews was followed by a controlled edge behind point, before a wristy flick from middle stump in the next over signaled the confidence Darren had gained from his impressive half-centuries in each of the previous matches. The runs flowed either side of the wicket for Darren, with an elegant drive after lunch standing out, as he stood tall to crack the over-pitched delivery through extra cover. He continued assuredly alongside Smith, negotiating the Sri Lanka attack with little fuss for the majority of the day and brought up his third fifty in as many matches with a pair of delicate boundaries off Dilhara Fernando; the first, a late dab through the slips, followed by a leg glance to the fine leg boundary.

Devon Smith made use of some wayward bowling to race to his own half-century after tea, in his first Test innings in almost eighteen months, before he was dismissed by Ajantha Mendis on 55. Smith had played Mendis with assurance until his dismissal, working him comfortably for singles despite the turn on offer and twice dispatching him to the fence when he pitched too full. He punished the quick bowlers as well, glancing Suranga Lakmal for four when he erred down the leg side and crashing a misdirected bouncer from Dilhara Fernando to the wide long-on boundary. The leg-break that has proved so productive for Mendis throughout this tour proved to be Smith's undoing however, as he misread the straightening delivery after Mendis had bowled a succession of offspinners at the batsman.

In pic: Devon Smith made 55 before he was dismissed

Fernando was wayward through the day as he struggled to find a consistent length, but created opportunities nevertheless, particularly in the evening. His awayswingers shaved Smith's outside edge on occasions, and even prompted an unsuccessful review from the Sri Lankans, just minutes before the batsman finally fell to Mendis. Bravo then edged Fernando to second slip in his next over, only for Mahela Jayawardene to spill the straightforward chance, reprieving the batsman on 55.

Although the swing and seam movement that Kumar Sangakkara expected when he chose to field was less pronounced than he would have liked, there was considerable turn for Mendis and Tillakaratne Dilshan. Rangana Herath was not bowled today, but the spinners are likely to play a major role as the Test wears on.