India 202 for 7 (Dravid 58, Yuvraj 54, Bangar 32*) beat West Indies 201 (Chanderpaul 58, Agarkar 3-24, Kartik 3-36) by 3 wickets, with 22 balls to spare
Scorecard

Sanjay Bangar's flint-like toughness under pressure enabled India to overcome an almighty wobble in mid-innings to register a three-wicket victory at the Barkatullah Stadium in Jodhpur – in a match dominated, for a change, by the bowlers. India's win set up the series beautifully - 3-3, with one to play.

But Bangar was just one of several Indian heroes on a day when the so-called lesser lights shone as brightly as the stars. Murali Kartik, Ajit Agarkar and Bangar himself set the tone earlier with the ball, knocking over West Indies for just 201 to set the match on a plate for Rahul Dravid, India's stand-in captain, and his fellow batsmen.

At one stage - 147 for 3 and Dravid and Yuvraj Singh with fifties to their names - it appeared that India would saunter home. But three wickets in 11 balls, two of them to Corey Collymore, turned the match upside down and caused more than a few jitters in the Indian camp before Bangar's steady hand took firm hold of the tiller.

Yuvraj, who had made a typically aggressive 54 was first to depart, chipping a catch to Ricardo Powell at square leg (147 for 4). Moments later, Dravid also took the chipped route to the pavilion, a gentle pitching-wedge shot finding Powell at midwicket after Vasbert Drakes bowled him a slower one (147 for 5).

That set the stage for Mohammad Kaif and Reetinder Sodhi to put together one of the partnerships that characterised their time in junior cricket. Only, Sodhi was in a bit of a rush. His attempt to maim the Man on the Moon defied gravity for a few seconds before plopping down in Ridley Jacobs's hands (148 for 7).

Kaif wasn't his usual ebullient self. Instead it was Bangar that wrested back the initiative with some clever flicks through, and over, midwicket. He did benefit from a reprieve, the otherwise outstanding Powell dropping him off Samuels. By the time Kaif was sent packing for 15 – cutting Pedro Collins straight to Powell at point – the finishing line was in sight, with Bangar's unbeaten 32 accounting for the final strides.

Earlier, West Indies' innings had been derailed by three men on the fringes of the Indian one-day side. Agarkar, dropped after some pitiful bowling in the first three games, stormed back with a splendid spell of 3 for 24, while Kartik started the slide before finishing up with 3 for 36. And at one stage late in the innings, Bangar was on a hat-trick - an Alice in Wonderland script if there ever was one.

Dravid had won the toss and, predictably decided to bowl. But even he couldn't have envisaged the dream start. It took 15 balls for the first run to be scored, and 5.3 overs before Chris Gayle crashed the first boundary.

There was just one glimpse of purple for the batsmen early on, when Gayle picked off Javagal Srinath for three fours in his fourth over, but with Hinds taking 25 balls to get off the mark, there was no early momentum. In the event, Hinds got no further than 1, spooning a catch to Dinesh Mongia in the deep after flicking Agarkar off his pads.

Kartik's impact was almost immediate, though to be fair, he got the benefit of a dubious decision from Asoka de Silva. Gayle was struck plumb in front when the ball appeared to pitch just outside leg stump, but de Silva's reaction was almost instantaneous.

Ramnaresh Sarwan and Shivnarine Chanderpaul then staged a mini-recovery after Marlon Samuels fell for 3, until Kartik intervened a third time. Another beautifully-flighted delivery tempted Sarwan down the track and the ball sneaked through bat and pad onto the stumps.

With Kartik then pulled out of the attack, West Indies enjoyed their only period of relative dominance. Ricardo Powell rode his fortune during a run-a-ball 29, before his luck ran out - an offbreak from Sehwag was going well down the legside but umpire Hariharan's finger was up.

Chanderpaul and Hooper had put on 48 in just seven overs when Dravid brought back Agarkar who soon struck – Chanderpaul edged him to Dravid to swing the match decisively India's way. Chanderpaul made 58.

Hooper wasn't up to the rescuing task today, as he top-edged Bangar back to the bowler. The West Indian innings was in a mess from which it never recovered.

Though West Indies came back well, picking up the wickets of Mongia, Sehwag and VVS Laxman cheaply, Dravid and Yuvraj made sure the Indians would live to fight another one-day. With more than a little help from Bangar, of course. Indian cricket needed an occasion like this, a day out for the Ordinary Joe. It can't always be about starry nights and fan hysteria.

Dileep Premachandran is assistant editor of Wisden.com in India.

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