West Indies big hitter Kieron Pollard gave India a scare before the hosts won the fifth and final ODI by 34 runs in Chennai.Pollard hit 10 sixes - the most struck against India in an ODI innings -
on his way to 119 off 110 balls before he was last man out. A sixth-wicket stand of 89 between Kieron Pollard and Andre Russell (53
off 42 balls) put West Indies back in with a chance of victory after
half their side went down for 78 in pursuit of 268.India wicketkeeper Parthiv Patel had two opportunities to end the partnership early but was found wanting on each occasion.Russell was dropped on 30 off a bottom-edge before Patel put the same batsman down five runs later off Virat Kohli.India finally made the breakthrough when non-striker Russell ran through
for a needless single and was well short of his crease following a
direct hit from Gautam Gambhir at short third-man.Darren Sammy sliced to third man off Ravindra Jadeja for three as Pollard lost his final significant batting partner.After losing Sunil Narine cheaply, Pollard brought up his highest ODI
score with successive sixes off Pathan to also bring up the 200.Fifty seven were needed off the final 10 overs but only two wickets remained.Kemar Roach brought the innings to a stand-still when he batted through
15 balls without scoring before he was bowled by a Jadeja delivery that
spun past his outside edge and hit off-stump.Pollard knew time was running out to reach his 100 at that point but
Virat Kohli inexplicably let a catch slip through his hands at long-on
with the batsman on 99.Not only did that allow Pollard to get to a 98-ball ton but the ball slid over the boundary.The burly right-hander hammered his ninth and 10th sixes soon after but
it always seemed likely the wickets column would prove crucial.So it proved as Pollard eventually holed out to Ajinkya Rahane on the long-off boundary with 35 balls remaining. In a hugely eventful match, Irfan Pathan made a dramatic comeback to
international cricket - following more than two-and-a-half years in the
wilderness - when he struck with the first ball of West Indies' innings.The left-armer swung a delivery back into Lendl Simmons and trapped the opener leg before.Pathan struck again in his third over to remove Kieran Powell, who played on for 15.Fellow opening bowler Abhimanyu Mithun then got in on the act with two wickets as West Indies slumped to 36-4.Denesh Ramdin (14) helped Pollard begin the recovery in a fifth-wicket stand of 42 before Russell offered even greater support.Manoj Tiwary (104 not out) and Kohli (80) had earlier dominated India's
innings of 267-6 as they added 117 for the fourth wicket before the
former retired hurt with cramp.Right-hander Tiwary's maiden ODI century came off 125 balls with 10 fours and one six.Kohli also seemed well-placed for three figures before he holed out to long-on going for quick runs in the closing stages.West Indies pace bowler Roach had got his side off to a flying start with wickets off consecutive balls of the first over. Rahane was trapped lbw before Parthiv Patel was bowled by a delivery that kept low.Gautam Gambhir was also a victim of the low bounce when Anthony Martin
trapped him leg before for 31 after taking part in a stand of 83 with
Tiwary for the third wicket.India wrap up the series 4-1 but the tourists can take some heart from
some battling displays and outstanding individual performances.
