Marlon Samuels Swells His Impressive Record Against India as West Indies Win

Marlon Samuels really likes playing against India. This is clear not because he’s said so, but because he keeps on scoring buckets of runs whenever he comes up against them. 

On Wednesday, Samuels recorded his sixth one-day international ton, to help West Indies post 321-6 and, eventually, a massive 124 run win. The enormous total was helped by Samuels' 165-run stand with Denesh Ramdin. It was a big win for a resurgent West Indies team who have now set a big marker for the remainder of the series. 

Samuels' role in the victory was significant. Not only did he score runs, he also chipped in with two wickets, surpassed a few personal landmarks in the process and his impressive record against India just expanded. 

He now has over 4000 runs in one-day internationals, but what is significant is that he has scored over 1000 runs against India. Here is a closer look at Samuels' overall ODI-run breakdown.

While India is certainly a batsman’s paradise, with more centuries scored here than anywhere else in the world, Samuels’ unbeaten hundred was still very impressive.

Opposition	Span	Mat	Inns	Runs	HS	Ave	SR
v Australia	2001-2012	25	24	399	63	17.34	61.66
v Bangladesh	2002-2012	13	12	533	126	48.45	76.14
v England	2006-2014	8	8	206	77	29.42	84.77
v India	2001-2014	36	36	1012	126*	32.64	78.63
v New Zealand	2007-2012	6	5	210	101*	52.5	80.15
v Pakistan	2005-2013	17	15	565	106*	47.08	59.59
v South Africa	2001-2013	13	13	357	98	32.45	84
v Sri Lanka	2000-2013	14	14	250	56*	27.77	84.45
v Zimbabwe	2001-2007	21	18	402	68	26.8	71.53

India managed just two sixes in their entire innings; Samuels managed four on his own. This was backed up by 11 fours and a consistent rotation of the strike when runs were hard to come by. Ravindra Jadeja was the only bowler who managed to contain Samuels somewhat. He conceded just 15 runs off his 31 balls to Samuels, the only Indian bowler who kept the batsman's strike rate below 100.

But the records do not stop there. Samuels also has nine 50-plus scores against India in ODIs, with his second best being five against Bangladesh. Furthermore, passing the 4000-run mark on Wednesday made him the 10th ever West Indies player to do so, with 91 players overall having achieved this feat

Samuels is not everyone’s cup of tea. He can sometimes appear brash and arrogant, but he has become one of the most reliable West Indies batsmen in recent years. Out of his six ODI hundreds, he has finished unbeaten five times and since 2007, he has not once averaged under 32 in a year. The fact that Samuels had not played one-day cricket since March this year seemed to have no impact on his ability to pick bad balls and leave the good ones. He looked as in-touch as ever.

When he is in full flow, there is no end to his aggression, and it would appear as if he is only focussed on hitting the bowlers out of the park.

This assumption, however, is incorrect. On Wednesday, 41 of his runs came in singles. While that is only 32.5 percent of his total runs, the significant thing here is that on a day when you’re timing the ball like Samuels did on Wednesday, just making sure that the scoreboard is ticking over is far more important than forcing singles.

An aggressive approach can be beneficial and Samuels' self-belief aids his ability; he has proven that time and time again. When you’re that good, it doesn’t matter how you get the job done.