Virat Kohli proved yet again that he was the master of the chase as he joined hands with Ravindra Jadeja to help India chase down a daunting target of 316 with eight balls to spare in the third and final ODI against the West Indies at the Barabati Stadium here on Sunday. Though the captain — quite uncharacteristically — wasn’t there till the end, Jadeja took the Men in Blue past the finish line in the company of Shardul Thakur.
The thrilling victory took India to a 2-1 come-from-behind series win, its 10th successive one against the West Indies. Kohli’s men had lost the opening ODI in Chennai before bouncing back at Visakhapatnam.
Openers on the prowl
The Indian openers’ success story in 2019 continued with Rohit Sharma and K.L. Rahul forging a 122-run partnership and laying a strong foundation for the big pursuit.
Rohit, elegant as usual, made a 63-ball 63 with eight fours and a six — a hit that soared over midwicket — before being caught behind off Jason Holder. It was the Hitman’s sixth half-century of the year.
Rahul oozed class, his cut shots and delicate whips on the leg-side bringing him a lot of runs. His 89-ball 77 was his third fifty in 2019. The wristy Karnataka batsman, who added 45 with skipper Kohli, flicked Alzarri Joseph for a magnificent six over deep-square leg before gloving the same bowler down the leg-side to the wicketkeeper an over later.
Rahul’s departure brought Windies back into the game and India lost three more wickets between the 33rd and 39th overs. With Keemo Paul striking off consecutive overs, the visitors sensed an opportunity.
Favourite shots
Determined to take the series, Kohli worked the ball around effortlessly and exhibited some his favourite strokes, including the cover drive and pull to collect fours, to keep the run rate in an achievable range.
Kohli, who reversed his track record here with a superb 85 (81b, 9x4), got an able partner in the street-smart Ravindra Jadeja (39 not out off 31) to gather 58 runs.
Kohli getting played on off Paul when India required 30 off 23 brought suspense, but Jadeja and Shadul Thakur (17 not out) hung in there to see India home.
Earlier, inserted in, Evin Lewis and Shai Hope, who relied on his timing and placement in his 50-ball 42, batted with restraint to put up 57 runs without losing any ground.
Lewis ambitiously lifted Ravindra Jadeja to be caught at long off.
Nailing Hope
Mohammed Shami bowled Hope, who missed the line, as the host mounted pressure.
Roston Chase, who must have thanked wicketkeeper Pant to get a reprieve on zero off Kuldeep Yadav, and Shimron Hetmyer batted smartly to pace up the innings by gathering 62 runs.
Hetmyer, who scored a 33-ball 37 and had some close shaves, faltered when he pulled debutant Navdeep Saini straight to fine-leg.
The clever Saini spectacularly bowled the lanky Chase with a yorker in his next over and Windies needed to consolidate at 144 for four in the 32nd over.
Toe-crusher
Nicholas Pooran and Keiron Pollard, who made light of a Saini toe-crusher, paced the innings exemplarily and targeted bowlers with a plan to change the momentum to form a 98-ball 135-run partnership. It enabled Windies achieve a desired total.
Pooran – who cut, pulled and drove brilliantly and clubbed Saini for three fours in an over – scored his fifth half-century (89 off 64). The Trinidadian, who was dropped on 52 and 72 by Pant, was caught at deep extra-cover off Shardul Thakur.
Pollard was at his brutal best in his unbeaten 51-ball 74, containing three hits to the ropes and seven mighty ones over it, as the Caribbeans plundered 77 runs in the last five overs.
Indian bowlers witnessed a drift in fortune, seemingly because of dew towards the end. Spilling of six catches – including a handful by Pant, including some tough ones – did not help them.
Scoreboard
WEST INDIES: Evin Lewis c Saini b Jadeja 21 (50b, 3x4), Shai Hope b Shami 42 (50b, 5x4), Roston Chase b Saini 38 (48b, 3x4), Shimron Hetmyer c Kuldeep b Saini 37 (33b, 2x4, 2x6), Nicholas Pooran c Jadeja b Shardul 89 (64b, 10x4, 3x6), Kieron Pollard (not out) 74 (51b, 3x4, 7x6), Jason Holder (not out) 7 (4b, 1x4); Extras (lb-4, w-3): 7. Total (for five wkts. in 50 overs): 315.
FALL OF WICKETS: 1-57 (Lewis, 14.6), 2-70 (Hope, 19.2), 3-132 (Hetmyer, 29.2), 4-144 (Chase, 31.3), 5-279 (Pooran, 47.5).
INDIA BOWLING: Shardul 10-0-66-1, Shami 10-2-66-1, Saini 10-0-58-2, Kuldeep 10-0-67-0, Jadeja 10-0-54-1.
INDIA: Rohit Sharma c Hope b Holder 63 (63b, 8x4, 1x6), K.L. Rahul c Hope b Joseph 77 (89b, 8x4, 1x6), Virat Kohli b Paul 85 (81b, 9x4), Shreyas Iyer c Joseph b Paul 7 (7b, 1x4), Rishabh Pant b Paul 7 (6b, 1x4), Kedar Jadhav b Cottrell 9 (10b, 1x4), Ravindra Jadeja (not out) 39 (31b, 4x4), Shardul Thakur (not out) 17 (6b, 2x4, 1x6); Extras (lb-2, w-9, nb-1): 12; Total (for six wkts. in 48.4 overs): 316.
FALL OF WICKETS: 1-122 (Rohit, 21.2), 2-167 (Rahul, 29.5), 3-188 (Shreyas, 32.3), 4-201 (Pant, 34.6), 5-228 (Jadhav, 38.5), 6-286 (Kohli, 46.1).
WEST INDIES BOWLING: Cottrell 10-1-74-1, Holder 10-0-63-1, Paul 9.4-0-59-3, Chase 4-0-19-0, Pierre 7-0-46-0, Joseph 8-0-53-1.
Toss: India.
Man-of-the-Match: Kohli.
Man-of-the-series: Rohit.
India won by four wickets with eight balls to spare and clinched series 2-1.
