India vs West Indies Highlights, 3rd ODI: India secure series sweep; beat WI by 96 runs

The Indian captain slams two fours off Alzarri Joseph's first over; he goes the same route for his second boundary of the over as well, as he guides the fullish delivery onto pads towards the mid-wicket boundary.

India 14/0 in 2 overs

Rohit begins the second over from Alzarri Joseph with a boundary as well. Flicks it past mid-wicket for a second four of the innings.

Rohit presents a straight bat on a full delivery, guiding it straight of mid-on for a quick single.

India 5/0 in 1 over

West Indies lose a review on the third delivery of the match. Pitches outside-off, impact in line but wickets missing by a significant margin.

The ball came back into the right hander but deviates a bit too much for the bowler's liking. Rohit survives!

Rohit Sharma begins the Indian innings with a boundary! A brilliant cut through square. Roach pitches it a little short and Rohit gets on the top of the ball and smashes it past point.

India 4/0 in 0.1 overs

The opening pair returns after over 10 months, having last opened together on March 28 during the third ODI of the series between India and England!

Another look at the Indian XI as the side eyes a 3-0 series victory over the West Indies. 

The pair will be aiming to become the fourth international opening pair to score 5,000 runs in ODIs.

India have an abundance of openers in their squad but Shikhar Dhawan remains unfazed with the competition.

“It's good that we have so many openers in the side, but I shifted my focus from competition to contribution. I contribute, then I feel like I don't have any competition. I enjoy batting on bouncy tracks, looking forward for a good opportunity today.”

“I am in good rhythm. I am happy that I scored five fifties (in the last nine innings), missed out on centuries as well, I reflect on those things,” Dhawan says.

“I am very happy with the way I am batting and my impact on the game ... I'm very happy about it. I am always hungry about runs but at the same time I make sure that I am not just focusing on hundreds but on the flow of the game, what the game demands at that time.”

Dhawan makes a return to the team after being forced to miss the 1st and 2nd ODI due to Covid-19.

West Indies (Playing XI): Shai Hope(w), Brandon King, Darren Bravo, Shamarh Brooks, Nicholas Pooran(c), Jason Holder, Fabian Allen, Odean Smith, Alzarri Joseph, Hayden Walsh, Kemar Roach

India (Playing XI): Rohit Sharma(c), Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant(w), Washington Sundar, Deepak Chahar, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna

KL Rahul, Deepak Hooda, Shardul Thakur, and Yuzvendra Chahal miss out. Shikhar Dhawan, Shreyas Iyer, Deepak Chahar and Kuldeep Yadav in the XI.

India win toss, opt to bat against West Indies in Ahmedabad

Kieron Pollard is on the field but still in warm-up jersey. Will he return? 

Windies captain Kieron Pollard, meanwhile, shared a hilarious post on his official social media profile.

The live pictures from the ground show Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal having a conversation during warm-up session. Will we see the return of the star bowling pair in the Indian XI?

- Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli's pair needs 94 more runs to complete 5000 partnership runs in ODIs.

- Rohit Sharma needs 5 sixes to reach 250 sixes in ODIs, he will be the 1st Indian to reach this landmark.

- The duo of Dhawan-Rohit needs 22 more runs to reach 5000 runs as opening pair in ODIs. 

“I hope it's a one-off. Rishabh Pant's importance is at number 5, 6, or 7. When he opened, his game was completely different. He was under pressure, he was wary. He was supposed to hit big in the first ten overs with only two fielders outside the circle. But he looked under pressure,” Gavaskar says in the pre-match show in Star Sports.

Rohit Sharma is only one six away from going past former India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni to become the Indian with most sixes in ODIs at home.

Overall, he will go fourth in the all-time list for sixes in home country.

Rohit could become the eighth Indian captain to register a clean-sweep victory in a bilateral series today. The last time India registered an ODI series clean-sweep was in 2017 under Virat Kohli.

If India register a win against West Indies on Friday, the side will also register its first-ever clean sweep against the ‘Men in Maroon’.

Former India captain Virat Kohli has had two disappointing outings in the series against West Indies (8 and 18 in two games). While he had scored two half-centuries in the ODI series against South Africa, a wait for a 71st international ton continues for the 33-year-old batter.

Legendary former India cricketer Sunil Gavaskar believes that luck also plays an important role for a batter. READ HERE

Ganguly/Tendulkar (Ind) - 6,609

Gilchrist/Hayden (Aus) - 5,372

Greenidge/Haynes (WI) - 5,150

Dhawan/Sharma (Ind) - 4,978*

Amla/De Kock (SA) - 4,198

The duo of Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan needs only 22 more runs to reach 5000-run mark as an opening pair in ODIs.

Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Avesh Khan, Prasidh Krishna