India in the West Indies: A brief history

 

Ahead of the tri-series in the West Indies, featuring the hosts, India and Sri Lanka, we take a look at how India have fared in the Caribbean down the years. Overall, India have played 32 ODIs in the West Indies since 1983, winning 11 and losing 20. There was one no-result.
1982-83 - West Indies won 2-1
India first played ODIs in the West Indies during the tour preceding the 1983 World Cup. They lost the series, but their victory in the second match at Albion Sports Complex in Guyana would prove the catalyst for Kapil Dev's team to believe they could do it again in England. And we all know how that panned out.

A look at India's ODI exploits in the Caribbean, dating back to 1983, ahead of the Celkon Mobile Cup.

In the first ODI at Port-of-Spain, West Indies won by 52 runs after their openers Gordon Greenidge (66) and Desmond Haynes (97) helped put up a total of 215 for 4 in 38.5 overs (a damp pitch delayed the start of play). In reply, India struggled to cope with the asking rate and managed 163 for 7. India levelled the series with a 27-run win in Guyana. Sunil Gavaskar (90) and Kapil (72 off 38 balls) set West Indies 283 to win in 47 overs but it proved too much as Kapil, Balwinder Sandhu and Madan Lal took two wickets each and Ravi Shastri 3 for 48. The final ODI was one-sided, with Larry Gomes' four wickets keeping India to 166 and Greenidge's 64 sealing a seven-wicket win.
1988-89 - West Indies won 5-0
India's forgettable tour of the West Indies began with a whitewash in the five ODIs, followed by a 3-0 Test defeat. In the first ODI in Barbados, the hosts beat India by 50 runs with Haynes (117) and Viv Richards (40 and 3 for 37 the chief contributors. At Port-of-Spain, Richards' 4 for 42 skittled India for 148 after which Greenidge (70) carried the chase. Two days later the series was locked by West Indies as a young Ian Bishop grabbed four wickets to set up a six-wicket win. India had been flattened, and failed to salvage any pride in the remaining matches - they were hammered by eight wickets at St John's and 101 runs at Georgetown.
1996-97 - West Indies won 3-1
India next toured seven years later, and after losing the Test series they were beaten 4-1 in the ODIs. In the first match at Port-of-Spain, India lost by eight wickets with Shivnarine Chanderpaul (83 off 88 balls) hastening a chase of 146 in 27.5 overs. India hit back in the second match at the same venue, with the unheralded due of Abbey Kuruvill and Noel David taking three wickets each before Sachin Tendulkar (65*) and Sourav Ganguly (39*) chased 113 without loss.
However, that was as good as it got for Tendulkar's team. West Indies won by 18 runs in St Vincent and took the series by ten wickets in Barbados with Chanderpaul reaching his first ODI century.
2002 - India won 2-1
More than 19 years since they first tried, India won an ODI series on West Indian soil. After the first two matches were washed out, India won by seven wickets in Barbados. Tinu Yohannan and Ajit Agarkar took three wickets each to bowl West Indies out for 186 and then Ganguly (41) and rookie Dinesh Mongia (74) wrapped up the chase. The second ODI was lost as the hosts rolled India over for 123 and raced home in 22.1 overs with Chris Gayle slamming 84 off 67 balls. But India held on to take the series at Port-of-Spain by 56 runs via the D/L method. Driven to 260 by Ganguly (56) and Tendulkar (65), India bowled West Indies out for 191.
2006 - West Indies won 4-1
Before their historic Test series victory under Rahul Dravid, India were thrashed in the ODI leg of their summer tour. A five-wicket win at Kingston was followed by an excruciating loss at the same ground, with Darren Bravo bowling Yuvraj Singh (93) to seal a one-run win for the hosts. India never recovered, losing by four wickets, six wickets and 19 runs in the remaining three games.
2007 ICC World Cup - eliminated before Super Eight stage
India went into the World Cup on a high, but were rudely jolted. In their tournament opener they were upset by Bangladesh, who won by five wickets at Port-of-Spain to leave India needing to win their next two group matches to stay alive. The first of those was a whopping 257-run win over minnows Bermuda, but a 69-run loss to eventual finalists Sri Lanka sent India packing much before expected.
2009 - India won 2-1
The disappointment of failing to reach the 2009 ICC World Twenty20 in England (they were defending champions) was offered momentary balm in the form of a series win in the West Indies just after the summer extravaganza. Yuvraj's 131 helped set up a 20-run win at Sabina Park, followed by West Indies drawing level with an eight-wicket thrashing two days later. But thanks to skipper MS Dhoni's cool, India squeezed a four-wicket D/L win with one ball to spare. The final ODI was washed out, giving India their second ODI series win in the West Indies.
2011 - India won 3-2
Following their 2011 World Cup success, India sent a second-string side to the Caribbean led by Suresh Raina. The first three matches were all won chasing, and West Indies averted a whitewash by winning the last two ODIs.