The key differentiator between India and West Indies was Marlon Samuels's innings of 108 off 75 balls. West Indies made 115 in the last 10 overs, and Samuels made 74 of these in just 34 deliveries. How did he get these runs? Not by slogging. Samuels was in control of 66 of the 75 balls he faced – an impressive 88%. As many as 53 of his runs – almost half – came in the V, 41 of them on the onside, which testified to his essentially straight-batted orthodox strokeplay, and his powerful driving. He played out only 24 dot balls and hit 70 of his runs in boundaries, slaying the bowling with proper cricketing strokes.

On this pitch, the way he played, the bowlers couldn't have done much. They bowled 54 balls to him on a good length – 73% of the balls he faced – and he hammered them for 68 runs. He faced 52 deliveries which pitched on off or just outside and smashed 65 off them. He had an answer to everything the bowlers threw at him; the Indians, when it was their turn to bat, had no such ripostes.

Amit Varma is assistant editor of Wisden.com in India.

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