India brush aside West Indies

India 246 (Raina 82, Harbhajan 70, Edwards 4-56) and 252 (Dravid 112, Sammy 4-52, Bishoo 4-65) beat West Indies 173 (Barath 64, Ishant 3-29) and 262 (Praveen 3-42) by 63 runs

	Praveen Kumar's two strikes on the fourth morning put India on course for a win © Associated Press

In another demonstration of their improving record overseas, a weakened India eased to only their fifth Test win in the Caribbean. The resistance from West Indies was disappointingly limp at Sabina Park as they lost six of the seven remaining wickets in the morning session. Praveen Kumar, sporting a buzz cut, snapped the home side's resolve by removing both overnight batsmen, Darren Bravo and Shivnarine Chanderpaul, in the first half hour. There were some big hits from Darren Sammy and Ravi Rampaul, but they merely delayed an Indian victory.

Smart stats India's 63-run win is their second in Jamaica and their fifth Test victory in the West Indies. The number of winsin West Indies (5) brings it level with their number of wins in Australia, England and New Zealand. Praveen Kumar's match figures of 6 for 80 is the third-best by an Indian bowler in a Test win in West Indies. BS Chandrasekhar's 8 for 208 in the six-wicket win in Trinidad in 1976 is the best bowling performance by an Indian bowler in a win in the West Indies. Ishant Sharma's match haul of 6 for 110 is third on the list of his best bowling performances in a match in Tests. His finest is 7 for 58 against New Zealand in Nagpur in 2010. Among captains who have led in at least 25 Tests, MS Dhoni has the best win-loss ratio (5.00). He is followed by Steve Waugh (4.55) and Mike Brearley (4.50). Dhoni has now led in five away-Test wins bringing him joint-second on the list of Indian captains with most wins in away Tests. The 74 runs added by West Indies for the last two wickets is the second-highest aggregate for wickets nine and ten in Tests in Jamaica. Their highest is 98 against Australia in 1990-91.

The resolve the West Indian batsmen showed on the third evening didn't make an appearance on Thursday. The Indian bowlers weren't particularly threatening early on, regularly providing harmless leg-side deliveries. One of those broke the stand that had frustrated India for nearly two hours, with Bravo losing his leg stump after walking across to try and guide the ball to fine leg. In Praveen's next over, he had Chanderpaul chipping a catch to cover as the ball, after causing a cloud of dust on pitching, came on slower than the batsman expected.

West Indies' chances evaporated with those two strikes, and Harbhajan Singh made it worse, removing birthday boy Carlton Baugh for a duck. Sammy wasn't going to give up, though. He was struck on the forearm by a kicker from Harbhajan, which prompted him to attack. Some blacksmith-swings sent the final three deliveries of the over for leg-side sixes, with the last two flying into the second tier at least. The entertainment ended with Amit Mishra's first delivery, a tossed-up, over-pitched ball that Sammy wanted to send out of the ground but sent only as far as extra cover.

Brendan Nash, the vice-captain who has been desperately short of runs over the home summer, restricted himself to defensive nudges. When he attempted one of his first enterprising strokes, a pull off a short ball from Mishra, he was horrified to see the ball scoot through impossibly low to be trapped plumb lbw.

Ravi Rampaul gave the few fans that turned up something to cheer about with a series of swept and driven boundaries, the highlight of which was an inside-out six over extra cover off Harbhajan. Like Nash, he too was done in by a ball of unpredictable bounce, from Ishant: it took off from a length and had him gloving it to MS Dhoni, who leapt acrobatically to take a one-handed catch over his head.

The last pair kept out the final seven deliveries before lunch, and then kept India waiting for half an hour after the break. With the specialists unable to finish things off, Dhoni turned to the part-time offspin of Suresh Raina, who needed only two deliveries to bowl Bishoo and secure a 1-0 series lead. © ESPN EMEA Ltd.

Sachin was praying when Dhoni hit winning runs

Sachin Tendulkar didn't watch Mahendra Singh Dhoni's winning shot, a six over long on off Nuwan Kulasekara, that clinched India the World Cup final against Sri Lanka on Saturday night.

The batting maestro was inside the dressing room, his hands clasped, eyes shut and prayers on his lips. It was the deafening roar of the capacity crowd that shook him and made him realise that his life-long dream had been realised. "I was not listening to anything at that time. I was not watching too. I was just praying to God. I realised that we have won the Cup when the entire stadium went up in a cheer," Tendulkar said when MiD DAY caught up with him outside the dressing room at the Wankhede Stadium on Saturday.

He played in five World Cups before without success. His dream was fulfilled on his home ground ” the Wankhede Stadium. Then, in a matter of a few moments, he moved from being immersed in himself to being lost in the frenzy of celebration. "I am really speechless. I don't know what to say! It's a feeling which I can't explain in any language," he said.

"It is a different kind of feeling. I am on a high. I believe now I am living in a different planet. It feels as if I am flying high." As he hugged his teammates one by one, tears rolled down his cheeks.

Then, as he has done on every occasion of reaching a milestone, he remembered his late father. "Khushi ke aansu bhi hote hain. Yeah, if he were here, he would have been the happiest person. He is always in my mind," Tendulkar said.

True heroes

Tendulkar was touched when the group of NSG commandos tasked with protecting him requested to be photographed with him and his family. Tendulkar immediately went into the dressing room and returned with son Arjun. Father and son posed with the commandos for the picture. "They are the real heroes. They defend our nation," the premier batsman said. The members of the Indian team might disagree, though. For them, he was God, the reason they played and won the coveted title. "I am not at all a special person. It was a nice gesture by the teammates. If you are talking about special, our nation is special. The people of our nation are special. We won the World Cup for them," Tendulkar said.

Tendulkar praised man of the tournament, Yuvraj Singh: He has been absolutely wonderful," he said.

People partied on streets to celebrate India's World Cup win

Be it celebrities like Amitabh Bachchan or IT professionals or common citizens - people all over the country hit the streets Saturday night to celebrate India's World Cup victory, with the festivities continuing into the early hours of Sunday.



People gathered at clubs, restaurants and pubs to watch the match but once it was over, they came out onto the streets to party. Youngsters were seen holding national flags and singing and dancing away to "Vande Mataram", "Chak De! India" and "Sabse aage honge Hindustani".

The sound of crackers was so defeaning that it seemed to be an early Diwali.

"We went to India Gate and celebrated with all our friends. All over, people were screaming and shouting and dancing to celebrate the historic win. We simply loved the enthusiasm. We also saw bikers performing stunts at India Gate," said Mohit Verma, who works with a software firm.

Every stranger became a friend and class distinctions blurred as just about everyone came out onto the streets, leading to huge traffic snarls.

"The traffic was such that some people who wished to go to India Gate had to park their cars at Pandara Road (about 1 km away) and then walk to India Gate. We had to do the same," Radhika Sharma, a media professional told IANS.

"Even Prithviraj Road (in the heart of the capital), which is usually quiet and has less traffic, was jampacked. There were two cars moving parallel to each other and people in both the cars were waving the national flag and cheering all along," she added.

People had their faces painted in the colours of the national flag and cruised along on their bikes and in their cars while screaming and shouting.

It is often said that cricket is a boys game but the girls were not far behind. One could see them celebrating the win with full enthusiam. There were couples riding on bikes, with girls riding pillion. Every now and then, the girls would stand up on the movings bike and cheer for India.

"We went to Centre Stage Mall (in Noida) and people went crazy there. They were blowing trumpets and most of them were wearing India T-shirts and had tattoos. It was so much fun," said Sucheta Bhatt, an HR professional.

Every stranger became a friend when Indian skipper Mahinder Singh Dhoni ended the match by hitting a spectacular six.

"We hit the streets immediately after the win. We were at a pub and the whole crowd came out on the streets. I knew everyone will be on the roads once India wins because I saw that during the India-Pakistan match," Shashi Verma, freelance writer based in Mumbai, said.

"I wanted to be part of the revelry. It was crazy on the streets. So many people were out. Dancing to the beat of dhols. I've never witnessed anything like this before," Verma added.

Kinshuk Pal, who works with a production house in Mumbai, said: "I was watching the match at my cousin's place. We were eight of us and when Dhoni hit that six, all of were ecstatic and we ran out on the streets to join others. We went around the roads for almost two hours, screaming loudly with people we don't even know. It was a great feeling. It was like a festival."

In Chandigarh and Mysore, too, the people couldn't stop themselves from coming onto the streets to cheer for the Men in Blue.

"Everyone was dancing on the roads. There were firecrackers. It was like we were celebrating Diwali and kids especially were very excited. They were shouting slogans like 'Humse jo takrayega choor choor ho jayega'," said Shivani Ganju, a media professional from Chandigarh.

Sidharth Shandilya, an IT professional in Mysore, said: "All my colleagues hit the road as soon as Dhoni hit the sixer. They didn't know who they were hugging, congratulating or dancing with, but people partied till 4 a.m. It seemed whole country was celebrating India's win. It was a sight to watch."

On Saturday night Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan, too, joined the jubilant crowds with son Abhishek and daughter-in-law Aishwarya Rai on Mumbai streets.

Fashion buyer Alka Nishar of AZA store was delighted with way Indian team dedicated the victory to Sachin Tendulkar.

"Only in India will you see the entire team dedicate their victory to one player. Only in India will you see the players lift their (South African) Coach and honour him for their victory! Only in India will you see a Pathan lift Tendulkar to honour him and respect his dedication to cricket. No race, creed, colour, caste will ever separate our unity and integrity. We are Indian and we are one!! Jai Hindi! World Champions...," said Nishar.

Indian players with World Cup Trophy

Team India photographs with World Cup winning trophy

We felt the pressure - Dhoni

MS Dhoni was confused with emotion for a moment after hitting the winning runs, before he reached for a stump© AFP Enlarge

It was the first time in six weeks that MS Dhoni could be heard doing what can only be described as giggling. Usually self-contained, the India captain arrived at the underground media conference room, World Cup medal around his neck, Man-of-the-Tournament Yuvraj Singh at his side, and turned into someone else.

Twisted into a knot of concentration and anxiety for six weeks during the World Cup, now that the title has been won, Dhoni suddenly found he could let all the tension go, take a step back from the edge, and relax. More than once in a 25-minute conversation, Dhoni collapsed in mirth, pressing the microphone to his forehead because he couldn't remember the first part of two long questions he had been asked. Or it may have been because one of the questions wanted his reaction to some public sentiment that he should now try to run the country.

Normally he replies to questions only in English, even when asked in Hindi. But on Saturday night, Dhoni switched languages several times as he spoke of the strains his team had been under during the World Cup.

"The pressure you go through is a lot; we felt it throughout the tournament," he said before describing what it was like inside the Indian team's bubble. "If you ask the players, they were not eating well because of anxiety. Not pressure, but anxiety. There would be food in front of you but you wouldn't feel like eating it."

To find a way to adjust to the nervousness, Dhoni said the players tried dealing with nerves in differnt ways. "We said avoid it, do this, do that," but the strain was always felt. However, everyone in the squad had, Dhoni said, eventually coped well. "The kind of extra responsibility that each and everybody had was enormous. This is what we had wanted to achieve; we had set our eyes on it one-and-a-half years ago."

Sitting next to him was Yuvraj, the player who exemplified both the performance India put in and the anxiety they had been through on their way to becoming the first team to win a World Cup final at home. When Dhoni was asked how Yuvraj had been in the dressing room during the tournament, he replied with a smile: "He has been vomiting a lot," and then went on to answer the question.

Yuvraj told ESPNcricinfo, as he crossed the Wankhede to return to his dressing room, that he had been physically ill several times during the tournament. "Anxiety, anxiety," he explained. "This was the World Cup and that anxiety can really be heavy."

The burden that Yuvraj and his team-mates had been carrying around over the last six weeks suddenly fell away after the final. Everything had turned into lightness. When he first entered the media conference room, Yuvraj climbed onto the dais, calling out loudly to the journalists: "badhaiyaan ho, badhaiyaan ho[congratulations, congratulations]". During the session the two men traded jokes, and towards the end, Yuvraj was heard saying under his breath to his captain in Hindi: "short answer, please."

Dhoni is not given to particularly short answers, except when he kills a question with a joke. He spoke lucidly of what was going through his mind after he hit the winning runs. "Emotionally, I was confused; I wanted a wicket [stump]". But he found himself at the centre of the pitch with Yuvraj at the other end. "I thought hug-vug we will do later, first take the wicket." He then ran over to his own end to pull out the stump, after which Yuvraj jumped on him, pulling him into a bear hug. "It was an emotional moment," Dhoni said. "I was confused, I didn't know what to do at the time, how to show my emotions."

The decision to promote himself up the order ahead of the in-form Yuvraj had also, Dhoni said, been taken under a certain kind of pressure because of the risk it involved. "It was a big decision, I knew that if I promoted myself and didn't score runs I would be asked why I couldn't stay back? If I promoted myself there would be two left-hand batsmen after me and if I got out the side may have been in trouble."

He said the decision was based on the logic that as Gambhir was batting well, all Dhoni would need to do was rotate strike. Also, India knew the dew factor was going to kick in and Dhoni believed he had the added advantage of being able to read Muttiah Muralitharan's doosra. "I have played a lot with Murali [for the Chennai Super Kings] and I know his doosra quite well, and he knows that also. I was able to put a bit of pressure on him"

The advantage of running well with Gambhir - their partnership extending back to their India A days in 2003-2004 - also tilted the decision towards promoting himself. "We don't take risky singles but try to convert one or one-and-a-half runs into two runs. It was an ideal combination and we were batting together after a long time. We ran well, and backed each other. We knew if we took the game close enough with the Powerplay left, we would achieve the target even if the runs needed were eight an over."

Dhoni is now India's most successful captain in limited-overs cricket, having won both the World Twenty20 and the World Cup, and when asked to explain his success, he laughed. "I'm lucky. I always get good players. The players have responded to me even if it's a Test side, where there were senior players who were part of the side before I started playing for India. Then, the youngsters coming in have contributed a lot, they have been willing to give more than 100%." He said it was "the character of the individuals [in the team] that helped us win this trophy."

India's win came inside the refurbished Wankhede Stadium, where the stands are now built on a vertical climb and the capacity has been reduced to 33,000. On Saturday night, however, the sound created was amplified as the partnerships for the third and fourth wickets grew. The crowd, Dhoni said, gave the batsmen strength. "During the Gambhir-Kohli partnership, ever run was applauded as if it was a boundary."

The dew on the ground had helped the Indian batsmen, as did the easing up of the wicket. But the key according to Dhoni was the combined effort. "It was a pressure game, but everyone contributed. When you share the pressure then it becomes easy."

India's performance at the World Cup, Dhoni said, had been based on a plan that was born about 18 months ago and was a result of methodically resting and rotating players. "We wanted to win the trophy for each other first. The first thing you want to do is give them [team-mates and support staff] happiness; to see it in their eyes."

He said that rather than try to expand the number of people for whom the World Cup was to be won, the team said: "Okay let's concentrate and keep it small. If you do well and win the World Cup, the whole country has a share in it." © ESPN EMEA Ltd.

Team India celebrate

Team India celebrates the 2nd Test win vs South Africa in Durban

Pic courtesy: Associated Press, AFP, Getty Images

Zaheer's experience helped the other bowlers too: Dhoni

DURBAN: Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni lauded his bowlers for making a splendid comeback in their 87-run win at Durban after being sent for a leatherhunt during the first Test match at the Centurion.

In pic: Zaheer Khan in action on the fourth morning © Getty Images

The skipper had special words of praise for pace spearhead Zaheer Khan. "After the first Test, we came back nicely as far as batting was concerned, but we were a bit concerned about our ability to take 20 wickets. Very happy to see the bowlers bounce back here," the Indian captain said at the post-match presentation ceremony.

About Zaheer's performance (six wickets in the match), the skipper said, "I have always maintained that Zaheer has been the best fast bowler that India have had in recent times. He has the ability to execute his plans well. Even if his primary plan doesn't work out, he has a Plan B ready. Also him being around, even the other bowlers get a lot of help."

The captain also had words of praise for his senior-most bowler Harbhajan Singh. "Harbhajan has been a great performer for India over last 10 years. It's always great to have him in the side. He did a great job as he bowled long spells from one end as the fast bowlers weren't getting much help from that end." For someone who hasn't exactly been lucky with the coin, Dhoni smiled and said, "It is very predictable for me to lose the toss." "The wicket didn't misbehave on the first day as we thought it would before the match. I felt that 200-odd was a decent score. After we got 70 plus lead, I was confident of doing well. Obviously we need to improve on our second innings batting. We would like to improve further and win the Test match at Cape Town."

When asked about the New Year Plans, Dhoni said, "We have a day off tomorrow and we can shop a lot. We will party in the night but not get drunk." Dhoni's South African counterpart Graeme Smith was graceful in admitting that the visitors really played well. "India have played really well. It has been a very good Test. We fought hard, but couldn't get across the line. We didn't bat well after a long time. Our batsmen have let us down. We have some work to do before Cape Town. It's disappointing not to chase down the target today," Smith said.

The South African captain admitted that Indians kept up the pressure and credit should be given to Dhoni and his boys. "India kept up the pressure, and credit to Dhoni and his team for bouncing back. They are No. 1 in the world. We have to see how we can bounce back now." VVS Laxman feels that his 96 today will be right up there among some of the memorable knocks that he has played over the years. "I always take pride in what I do overseas. Beating South Africa in South Africa, that too in Durban, it is definitely up there. In Durban, you need to get adjusted to the bounce. I waited for that and got a good partnership with Zaheer," Laxman said. -PTI

Hapless New Zealand swept away again

India 107 for 2 (Parthiv 56, Yuvraj 42) beat New Zealand 103 (Styris 24, Ashwin, 3-24, Yuvraj 2-5, Nehra 2-34) by eight wickets

In pic: India celebrates their 5-0 victory in the ODI series against New Zealand

New Zealand were at the receiving end of another humiliation as a hapless batting performance led to their lowest score against India and sealed a 0-5 whitewash. On a dry pitch susceptible to the influence of the overcast weather, New Zealand were keen to make the most of initially favourable batting conditions. But their edginess against pace at the start of the innings, and capitulation to spin later on, ensured their misery in ODIs continued.

The pitch offered limited assistance to the bowlers and was not responsible for the domination that India showed; New Zealand's inability to survive perhaps was. The seamers were crafty enough to make use of the hint of swing and movement available early on, the spinners, led by R Ashwin, varied their lengths, pace and worked the angles well to prove more than a handful against the middle and lower orders.

Praveen Kumar's control and Ashish Nehra's quick recovery from a Brendon McCullum onslaught in his first over set up India. Praveen earned his prize straight away, beginning with three straight-ish deliveries before getting one to nip away and prompt a fatal poke from Martin Guptill. Nehra had a contrasting start, struggling for line and length, dragging one short to be dispatched over square leg and providing width to be slammed through the off side for two boundaries. McCullum's aggressive posture, characterized by his advances down the wicket as well as moving well across to look for scoring opportunities, promised an entertaining counterattack. It caused his downfall instead, as he shuffled across to Nehra and was done in by the inswing to be caught on the pads, leaving New Zealand 14 for 2.

Smart stats This is the second time India have won an ODI series 5-0. The only previous instance was against England in 2008-09, when a seven-match series was curtailed to five due to the terrorist attack in Mumbai. India won each of those five games. For New Zealand, it was their fourth 5-0 drubbing in a five-match series. Three of those four series defeats have happened since 2003. New Zealand's total of 103 is their lowest in a completed innings against India. It's their second-lowest in India - they'd scored six runs fewer against Australia in Faridabad in 2003. India won with 173 balls to spare, which is their fourth-highest in all ODIs and their best against New Zealand. For the visitors too, it's the fourth-heaviest defeat in terms of balls remaining. Over the five-match series, Indian batsmen averaged 56.95 runs per wicket, at a strike rate of 94.05 runs per 100 balls, and scored four hundreds. New Zealand averaged 24.38 at a strike rate of 80.43, and didn't manage a single hundred. Ashish Nehra became the 11th Indian bowler to take 150 ODI wickets.

The pitch largely behaved itself for the duration of the innings and the Indian bowlers, for their part, provided reasonable opportunities to ease the pressure. Ross Taylor looked confident, piercing the field with some delicious drives past mid-off, but his stay ended with an instinctive attempt at a pull against Nehra, and the ball scraped the glove on the way to Parthiv Patel. Jamie How appeared on course to lend some respectability to what's been a miserable series with some lovely flicks off his pads and Scott Styris seemed determined to get the innings back on track, but the steadiness that they had painstakingly brought to the innings was obliterated by spin.

The slow bowlers were expected to play a prominent role as the day wore on and it didn't take long for Yuvraj Singh to step into the act. In the 17th over, after having built a stand of 43 with Styris, How tried to play across the line and was bowled as the ball straightened. Styris misread the length and played the sweep, almost as an afterthought, against Ashwin in the next over to be caught plumb. And Grant Elliott, included in the line-up to strengthen the batting, made no impact, failing to read the straighter one from Yuvraj to be lbw.

Three wickets in three overs, and the departure of Daniel Vettori to a catch at slip not long after indicated New Zealand were in a hurry to finish the game even before the weather, overcast and ominous, was given a chance to intervene. Sure enough, Kyle Mills' inability to read Ashwin's carrom ball and Tim Southee's gifting a catch to short leg marked a sorry end to a line-up that bats deep.

The early wickets of the in-form Gautam Gambhir and Virat Kohli were the only consolation as New Zealand succumbed to a 0-5 battering, with their World Cup preparations in disarray following a bitter experience in two recent assignments in the subcontinent. India, for their part, have been boosted by the successful return of Yusuf Pathan and the consistency of Ashwin, while consecutive fifties from Parthiv Patel have further spiced up the selection race for the World Cup.- Cricinfo