Five-star Jadeja helps India restrict Windies

LONDON: Ravindra Jadeja picked up a career-best 5-36
as India kept the West Indies down to 233-9 in a key Champions Trophy match at the Oval on Tuesday.

The left-arm spinner took three wickets for five runs in 14 balls to reduce the West Indies from a comfortable 103-1 to 109-4 after India won the toss on a grim, overcast day in London.

Johnson Charles smashed 60 off 55 balls, but it was a brilliant unbeaten 56 from 35 balls by former captain Darren Sammy towards the end that boosted the total.

Sammy plundered five boundaries and four sixes to lift his side from 182-9, making all the 35 runs from the last two overs as last man Kemar Roach watched from the non-striker's end without scoring.

With both teams having won their opening matches, the winner will step closer to booking one of the two semi-final spots from group B.

India won the initial battle by getting rid of danger man Chris Gayle in the fifth over, caught at slip off Bhuvaneshwar Kumar, after he had scored 21of the first 25 runs.

But Charles took over, reaching 50 from 46 balls with the help of seven boundaries and a six as the West Indies raced to 91-1 in the 17th over.

Charles brought up his team's 100 in the 19th over by lofting Ravichandran Aswin for a six, but fell six balls later when he was leg-before to Jadeja.

Jadeja won a leg-before decision from the television umpire to remove Marlon Samuels and then had Ramnaresh Sarwan caught down the leg-side by Mahendra Singh Dhoni as the West Indies slipped from 103-1 to 109-4.

Left-hander Darren Bravo scored a watchful 35 off 83 balls when he attempted to loft Ashwin, missed the line and was stumped by Dhoni to make the West Indies 140-5.

Kieron Pollard, kept scoreless for the first 10 balls, opened with two consecutive sixes off Ashwin before holing out in the deep off Ishant Sharma after making 22.

India retained the same side that defeated South Africa in Cardiff last Thursday.

The West Indies were without wicket-keeper Denesh Ramdin, who was handed a two-match ban for claiming a dropped catch during his team's victory over Pakistan at the Oval on Friday.

Sammy replaced Ramdin in the side, with Charles picked to keep wickets. (AFP)