PORT-OF-SPAIN — Stand-in skipper Virat Kohli struck 102 off 83 balls as India beat West Indies by 102 runs on D/L method here Friday to get its first victory of the Tri-Nation Series. After defeats to the host and Sri Lanka, Champions Trophy winner India badly needed a victory at the Queen's Park Oval to have a chance of reaching the final of the series Thursday. West Indies captain Dwayne Bravo won the toss and elected to put India in to bat on a grassy looking wicket but the hopes he had of early breakthroughs failed to materialize. Indian openers Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan put on 123 in 23.1 overs for the first wicket before Dhawan holed out to Darren Bravo at midwicket off Kemar Roach having made 69 from 77 balls. Sharma (46) edged Tino Best, Suresh Raina fell for 10 and Dinesh Karthik for 6. But then Kohli and Murali Vijay put on 42 runs in the five over 'power play' and despite lacking a strong partner after Vijay's departure, Kohli took full advantage of some loose bowling. A target of 312 was going to be a tough challenge for West Indies and it quickly got tougher when they lost opener Chris Gayle and Darren Bravo, both to seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar. A 90-minute rain delay reduced the game to 39 overs and the target to 274 but only Johnson Charles, with a lively 45 from 39 balls, managed to build any sort of innings. The game was virtually over by the time Kemar Roach (34) and Sunil Narine (21) were able to provide some token resistance at the end. West Indies has nine points from three games with India now on five from three and Sri Lanka also on five but from just two games. Windies without Bravo West Indies captain Dwayne Bravo has been suspended from his team's encounter with Sri Lanka in the fifth match of the Tri-Nation Series Sunday. In a decision handed down by the International Cricket Council match referee Jeff Crowe and released Saturday, it was explained that the all-rounder faces the sanction due to his team's second slow over-rate offense in a 12-month period. Bravo pleaded guilty to the offense and as the West Indies team did not contest the charge, there was no need for a formal hearing on the matter. Coming hard on the heels of a 102-run loss to the Indians in that rain-affected fixture, Bravo's suspension represents a further setback to a home side that is now in danger of losing momentum completely after they concluded the first half of the league schedule with two wins from two matches at Sabina Park in Jamaica.— Agencies
