The Latest: India unbeaten; Windies fade out of contention

By Associated Press 28 June 2019, 12:00AM

LONDON (AP) — The Latest on Day 29 of the Cricket World Cup (all times local):

5:45 p.m.

India continued its unbeaten streak with a 125-run victory at Old Trafford that ended any slight hope West Indies had of reaching the World Cup semifinals.

It was a fifth win for Virat Kohli's India lineup and a rebound in form following a close call against Afghanistan. It was a fifth loss in six games for the West Indians since a commanding opening win over Pakistan and it makes them the third team to drop out of playoffs contention.

The West Indies bowling attack did its job when Kemar Roach (3-36) took three wickets and skipper Jason Holder (2-33) snared two to contain India to 268-7 in 50 overs. Only Kohli, with 72 from 82 balls, and MS Dhoni, with an unbeaten 56, posted half centuries for India.

But India paceman Mohammed Shami dismissed Chris Gayle (6) and No. 3 Shai Hope (5) in his opening spell and, after an innings building 55-run partnership between Nicholas Pooran and Sunil Ambris, it all went downhill for West Indies.

Shami returned for two late wickets and finished with figures of 4-16 as West Indies was bowled out for 143 in the 35th over.

India moved into second place with 11 points, one behind defending champion Australia, and travels to Birmingham to play England on Sunday.

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5:05 p.m.

West Indies' slim hopes of staying in contention at the World Cup appear to have been lost with Carlos Brathwaite's dismissal to make it 107-6 in the 27th over chasing 269 to beat India.

The West Indian bowling attack did its job when Kemar Roach took three wickets and skipper Jason Holder snared two to contain India to 268-7 in 50 overs.

But Mohammed Shami dismissed Chris Gayle (6) and No. 3 Shai Hope (5) in his opening spell and, after an innings building 55-run partnership between Nicholas Pooran and Sunil Ambris, and then the slower-paced bowlers chimed in.

Hardik Pandya trapped Ambris (31) lbw, Kuldeep Yadav had Pooran (28) caught in the outfield and Yuzvendra Chahal dismissed Holder (6) to have West Indies reeling at 98-5.

Brathwaite, who scored a century to get West Indies within five runs of beating New Zealand here last Saturday, was caught behind off Jasprit Bumrah for one and West Indies was in dire trouble.

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2:40 p.m.

Afghanistan has replaced medium-pace bowler Aftab Alam "under exceptional circumstances," the International Cricket Council said.

Aftab played only three games for winless Afghanistan at his second World Cup, but took 3-45 against New Zealand and got Hardik Pandya caught behind in the near-miss against India on Saturday.

Sayed Shirzad, a left-arm seamer, was added to the squad for the last two matches against Pakistan on Saturday and West Indies next Thursday.

Sayed's only ODI was in March against Ireland, but before he got to bat the match was rained out.

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2:30 p.m.

Kemar Roach took three wickets and skipper Jason Holder snared two in tight 10-over performances as West Indies contained India to 268-7 and maintained its chances of progressing at the World Cup.

MS Dhoni finished unbeaten on 56 after hitting a pair of sixes and a boundary in the last over from Oshane Thomas, adding 48 after he survived a stumping opportunity. It was his first half-century of the tournament.

India skipper Virat Kohli won the toss and opted to bat, hoping to extend a streak at Old Trafford where the team batting first wins. He led scoring for India with 72 from 82 balls. Roach took 3-36, Holder returned 2-33 and Sheldon Cottrell took two wickets in three balls in the penultimate over to finish with figures of 2-50.

The West Indies fell five runs short of New Zealand's 291-8 here last Saturday when Carlos Brathwaite was caught on the boundary attempting to hit a six for victory.

West Indies needs a victory over unbeaten India to have any chance of reaching the semifinals.

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1:20 p.m.

Being swept 5-0 in South Africa two months ago means nothing to the Sri Lankans ahead of their rematch at the World Cup.

Sri Lanka coach Chandika Hathurusingha said his team's resurgence brought confidence for Friday's game against the struggling South Africans, who're already out of contention for the semifinals.

"Obviously, we think that we have a good chance because we are coming off two wins — and a very good win against England," Hathurusingha said. "Although we didn't play our best cricket to win the game in terms of batting (against England), I think we had a perfect bowling display, defending that target."

Sri Lanka has won two games and picked up a point from each of its washed out games, and is sitting on six points. The win over England opened the way for Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka to reach the semis, putting pressure back on the tournament hosts. South Africa and Afghanistan were the first two teams to slump out of contention in the 10-team league stage.

"You can lose so many games and win the one that is the most important — this next game," Hathurusingha said. "I think we have enough talent and skill-set to compete with them tomorrow."

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12:25 p.m.

Unbeaten India has lost both openers and reached 118-2 halfway through its allotted 50 overs in the Cricket World Cup game against the West Indies at Old Trafford.

Skipper Virat Kohli is not out on 37 and Vijay Shankar is batting on 13.

Rohit Sharma (18) was first to go with the total at 29 after West Indies referred a not-out decision to the TV umpire when Kemar Roach appealed for caught behind.

Roach's delivery cut back off the seam and squeezed between bat and pad. The TV umpire decided there was enough evidence of contact with the bat on the ultra-edge technology to overturn the on-field decision.

KL Rahul (48) shared a 69-run partnership from 89 deliveries with Kohli before he was bowled by West Indies captain Jason Holder in the 21st over.

Holder bowled consecutive maiden overs to start his spell and didn't concede a run from his first 14 deliveries as he worked away on a good length and tested India's batsmen. His persistence earned the wicket of Rahul, who faced 61 balls and stroked seven boundaries.

Holder's team needs to win its last three matches to have any chance of reaching the semifinals, and has to reverse a trend at Old Trafford to achieve the first of those. The team batting first has won the first three games played at Old Trafford at this year's World Cup, meaning Kohli's decision was virtually pre-determined when he won the toss.

Old Trafford again was again crowded predominantly with India fans wearing the blue shirts of their national team.

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10:20 a.m.

India skipper Virat Kohli won the toss and elected to bat first in the Cricket World Cup game against West Indies, hoping to continue a theme at Old Trafford.

The team that has batted first in Manchester in the previous three World Cup games has successfully defended its total. West Indies had a narrow five-run loss to New Zealand here last Saturday and must win its last three group games to have any chance of making the semifinals.

West Indies made two changes to the lineup that lost that side, with injured opening batsman Evin Lewis replaced by Sunil Ambris and offspinner Ashley Nurse replaced by Fabian Allen.

Unbeaten India made no changes to the XI that had a surprisingly close win over Afghanistan on the weekend, with paceman Mohammed Shami retaining his place after taking a hat-trick in the last over against the Afghans.

Lineups:

India: Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Vijay Shankar, Kedar Jadhav, MS Dhoni, Hardik Pandya, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah.

West Indies: Chris Gayle, Sunil Ambris, Shai Hope, Nicholas Pooran, Shimron Hetmyer, Jason Holder, Carlos Brathwaite, Fabian Allen, Kemar Roach, Sheldon Cottrell, Oshane Thomas.

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9 a.m.

Jason Holder and his West Indies lineup need to beat two-time champions India at Old Trafford on Thursday to keep alive a slim chance of reaching the Cricket World Cup semifinals.

Unbeaten India is coming off an 11-run win over Afghanistan and is unlikely to be caught off guard again after that surprisingly narrow result, and after recent losses for England and New Zealand which have changed the momentum of the tournament.

West Indies has lost its last four completed matches at the tournament, its longest streak ever at the World Cup. The last of those defeats was at Old Trafford, where the team batting first has won the last three times.

After a five-run loss to New Zealand last Saturday, when Carlos Brathwaite was caught on the boundary attempting to hit a six for victory, West Indies needs to rebound with wins in its last three games to maintain its chances of finishing in the top four and securing a spot in the playoffs.

After a couple of cloudy days in Manchester, the forecast is for a clear, sunny day.

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More AP cricket: www.apnews.com/cricket and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

By Associated Press 28 June 2019, 12:00AM

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