For Indian cricket fans, Saturday turned out to be a day of mixed emotions. The morning brought celebrations as the Shreyas Iyer-led Indian T20I team clinched the Asian Games gold after defeating Pakistan in the final.
By evening, however, the mood changed as West Indies stunned India by five wickets in the third and final ODI here.
Chasing a daunting 352, West Indies rode on a magnificent unbeaten 162 from captain Shai Hope to chase down the target with 10 balls to spare, finishing on 352/5 in 48.2 overs. Hope’s match-winning knock, which came off 143 balls and included 17 fours and three sixes, turned what appeared to be a difficult chase into a memorable victory for the visitors.
Hope found able support from Amir Jangoo, who scored a brisk 67 off 56 balls, while Keemo Paul added 44 from 35. Gudakesh Motie then provided the finishing touches with an unbeaten 19 off 14 balls. West Indies had lost John Campbell early for 10, but Hope kept the chase under control and steadily took the game away from India.
The victory was built around a strong second-wicket partnership between Hope and Jangoo. The pair took West Indies to 150 before Jangoo was dismissed, with Hope continuing to anchor the innings. He reached his century in 104 balls and accelerated further as the target came within reach.
{{/usCountry}}The victory was built around a strong second-wicket partnership between Hope and Jangoo. The pair took West Indies to 150 before Jangoo was dismissed, with Hope continuing to anchor the innings. He reached his century in 104 balls and accelerated further as the target came within reach.
{{/usCountry}}India, who had posted 351/7 after being asked to bat, appeared to have put up a formidable total. Veteran opener Rohit Sharma led the charge with an entertaining 92 off 85 balls, striking 10 fours and three sixes. He missed out on another ODI century by just eight runs after being dismissed in the 25th over.
Ruturaj Gaikwad contributed a valuable 57 off 69 balls, but it was wicketkeeper-batter KL Rahul who provided the late acceleration. Rahul remained unbeaten on a spectacular 129 off just 87 balls, hitting 10 fours and six sixes at a strike rate of 148.27. His assault in the final stages lifted India past the 350-mark and appeared to have given the hosts enough runs to defend.
India’s start, however, was far from ideal. Captain Shubman Gill fell for one and Virat Kohli was dismissed for a duck in successive deliveries early in the innings. Rohit and Gaikwad then rebuilt the innings before Rahul took charge.
With the ball, Jayden Seales was the pick of the West Indies attack, claiming 3/62 runs in his 10 overs. Paul took two wickets while Motie claimed one.
India’s bowling attack struggled to contain the West Indies chase. Mohammed Siraj was the most economical Indian bowler with 1/52 while Gurnoor Brar and Kuldeep Yadav also picked up a wicket each. Anshul Kamboj conceded 82 runs in nine overs as West Indies maintained the required scoring rate.
Hope’s innings ultimately proved decisive. He reached 150 from 139 balls and remained unbeaten as Motie joined him to complete the chase. West Indies crossed 300 in the 46th over before completing the target in the 49th over.
The result gave West Indies a memorable victory here and ended India’s winning run in the ODI series.
For the hosts, Rahul’s breathtaking century and Rohit’s near-century provided plenty of batting positives, but the bowling unit could not defend a 350-plus total against a determined West Indies side.