West Indies defeated India in the third ODI by 43 runs to make the scoreline 1-1 after three matches. Windies proved to be too much for India after the middle order failed to contribute for the home team, as the openers failed to provide the impetus in the chase.
West Indies batted first and scored 283/9 thanks to 95 from Shai Hope, 40 from Ashley Nurse and a couple of the 30s from Shimron Hetmyer and Jason Holder. Jasprit Bumrah was the hero with the ball for India picking 4/35, while Kuldeep Yadav picked 2/52, continuing his knack of picking wickets.
India’s chase got off on the wrong foot, as Jason Holder sent back Rohit Sharma for 8 and Shikhar Dhawan continued his run of getting starts and then getting out, this time to Nurse for 35. Virat Kohli continued his great form, scoring his third century in three matches, making 107 from 119 balls with 10 fours and 1 six. He became the first Indian batsman to score three consecutive centuries in ODI cricket.
However, the middle order failed as Rayudu made 22 and Pant made 24 in 18 balls, with Dhoni continuing his poor run with the bat, making 7 runs. His inability to score runs is putting undue pressure on the rest of the middle order.
This meant that Kohli had to bat with the tail to take India to the victory with almost 70 runs needed in the last 10 overs. But Bhuvneshwar Kumar got out for 10 and then Marlon Samuels landed the big blow, clean bowling Kohli and wiping out the hopes of Indian team of making a fight out of the chase.
Jason Holder (2/44), Obed McCoy (3/38) and Ashley Nurse (2/43) kept picking the wickets at regular intervals to keep Indian batting at bay. Marlon Samuels chipped in with 3/12, including the wicket of Virat Kohli.
The next game will be played at Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai on 29th October, Monday.
BRIEF SCORES:
WI 283/9 (S HOPE 95; J BUMRAH 4/35) defeated IND 240 (V KOHLI 107; M SAMUELS 3/12) by 43 runs
