By India crushed West Indies by 200 runs in the third ODI to secure a series win at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy, in Trinidad and Tobago on Wednesday.
Indian bowlers, led by pacers Mukesh Kumar and Shardul Thakur, wrapped up West Indies for 151 to rope in the win, after a concerted effort from its batting lineup.
After being sent out to bat by West Indies skipper Shai Hope, India, which continued to be without regular skipper Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, amassed a mammoth 351.
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The visiting side started on the right foot, with openers Ishan Kishan and Shubman Gill dominating the opening phase of play. The left-right duo found boundaries with ease and as they put on a 143-run stand inside 20 overs.
Kishan was the more brutal of the two, with the wicket-keeper batter employing the pull shot to great effect. West Indies thought it found a way back in the game when it dismissed Kishan and No. 3 batter Ruturaj Gaikwad quickly.
India vs West Indies Scorecard
But Sanju Samson, along with a well-settled Gill ensured that the advantage gained wasn’t ceded. The Kerala batter showed not hesitation in taking on the Caribbean bowlers, as he scored three sixes in the first 13 balls he faced.
Though India slowed down after the dismissal of Samson and Gill, stand-in skipper Hardik Pandya ensured his side finished on a high. The all-rounder was ruthless in the death as he scored boundaries for fun to take India beyond the 350-run mark.
West Indies’ reply began on the wrong foot, with pacer Mukesh providing the early breakthroughs.
The right-arm bowler was accurate and persistent as he drew errors from the opposite batters, to leave the home side tottering at 17 for three inside seven overs.
Fellow pacers Thakur and Jaydev Unadkat added a couple more wickets to ensure the match was more or less secured, before Gudakesh Motie and Alzarri Joseph delayed the inevitable with some mighty hits.
Thakur would return to mop up the tail to claim a four-wicket haul as India secured its second-biggest in the format against West Indies.
