Rain plays spoilsport

Gros Islet (St. Lucia), July 3: Play started two hours and five minutes late, following rain in the third One-day International between West Indies and India on Friday at the Beausejour Cricket Ground.

The match has been reduced to 41 overs-a-side, with one bowler allowed a maximum of nine overs, and the others a maximum of eight.

The statutory Power Play at the start of each innings shall apply for the first eight overs, and the subsequent batting and bowling Power Plays — chosen by the respective sides — will be for a maximum of four overs each.

India had won the toss and decided to take the field when showers arrived just before the scheduled start, and kept the players in their respective dressing rooms.

There are two changes for India with Ishant Sharma and Abhishek Nayar replac ing Praveen Kumar and Ravindra Jadeja, but West Indies were predictably unchanged.

The four-match series is level 1-1, after India won the high-scoring opening ODI by 20 runs at Sabina Park in Jamaica, and two days later, West Indies rebounded to secure an eight-wicket victory in a low-scoring second ODI.

Whichever side wins the third ODI will take an unbeatable lead in the series, but India will be hoping win a rare ODI series victory in the Caribbean. — AFP

Brief Scores: West Indies 57/1 in 9.3 overs (Chris Gayle 27, Ashish Nehra 1/18) vs India.