After the cyclone 'Hudhud' forced the Visakhapatnam ODI to be called-off, the series has now been effectively reduced to a four-match affair. After the heavy loss in Kochi, India did exceedingly well to force a 48-run victory in Delhi to level the series at 1-1.
Having levelled the series at Delhi, India will look to go ahead at Dharamsala. © Cricbuzz
The selectors have bolstered the Indian team by adding left-arm orthodox spinner, Akshar Patel, to the squad. There has been a change in the West Indies camp as well. Lendl Simmons, who missed the first two matches has been ruled out of the remainder of the tour. He has been replaced by Nikita Miller.
A sunny day has been predicted at Dharamsala and the curator reckons that there will be good pace and bounce off the surface. The cold conditions might also assist the pace bowlers for a while.
Shikhar Dhawan started off in cautious fashion, but once he got his eye in eased into his trademark strokes as Jason Holder went for a four and a six off consecutive deliveries before he smashed Jerome Taylor for 4 fours in the next over as India reached 51/0 after 7 overs.
Dwayne Bravo shares a lighter moment with Mahendra Singh Dhoni during the toss. ©Reuters
Shikhar Dhawan and Ajinkya Rahane had set themselves and their side a very good platform. The duo looked at ease against the Winides bowlers and the signs were ominous for the visitors. But just when it looked like there was no respite in sight for WI, Andre Russell struck a crucial blow to remove the well-set left-hander for 35.
Dhawan was out trying to hook the ball, but only managed to get a thick top-edge, that landed straight in the hands of Darren Bravo.
Ajinkya Rahane brought up a fine half-century to help India overcome the setback of losing Shikhar Dhawan. The right-hander looked in silken touch and his timing and placement was spot-on. His partner Virat Kohli too looked to be carrying on from where he left of in the last game.
Rahane, was soon out LBW to Suleimann Benn as India reached 142/2.
Virat Kohli seemed a totally different batsman, knocking off boundaries with ease and picking the gaps regularly, as he went on to notch up his 2nd fifty in as many matches to take India to 177/2 after 33 overs.
Ajinkya Rahane looked in prime touch during his fine fifty. ©Reuters
Suresh Raina too showed he is in sublime form as he brought up a superb half-century as India set themselves up for a slam-bang finish. Meanwhile, Virat Kohli was closing in on a scintillating hundred.
Raina was out, soon after, caught by the keeper off the bowling of Jerome Taylor for a smashing 58-ball 71.
That Virat Kohli will have his name alongside legends, and maybe even atop them, is a no-brainer. But, for a hugely talented youngster to find himself in a slump, what matter most is how he works towards climbing out of it. And Virat Kohli showed, today, how it should be done.
The Delhi batsman played a near-perfect innings as he brought up his 20th ODI hundred to take India close to a massive target.
Virat Kohli was run-out off the last ball, for a masterly 127 as India ended with a massive total of 330/6.
With news already confirmed that the West Indies side will leave for home after this match, it was not really surprising to see them completely disinterested in the game. Dwayne Smith's batting was, perhaps, the perfect reflection of what his side's mental state was like. He came out, with hardly any interest of winning the game in mind, swining hard from ball number one, and was heading back to the pavillion 10 balls and 0 runs later.
Kieron Pollard, one of the the world's most destructive batsmen, surprisingly chose to adopt a far-too-cautious approach, crawling to 6 off 30 deliveries before he was out caught off the bowling of Bhuvneshwar Kumar.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar celebrates the wicket of Kieron Pollard. ©Reuters
Axar Patel picked up his first wicket as he had Darren Bravo out bowled. It looked like West Indies had given up all hope of winning and just were going through the motions.
Marlon Samuels went on the attack, smashing Ravindra Jadeja for 22 runs to get to his fifty. However, Jadeja got his own back in the next over as he dismissed Denesh Ramdin and Dwayne Bravo to leave the visitors tottering.
Marlon Samuels and Darren Sammy were involved in a good stand before Axar Patel dismissed the latter to leave WI at 165/6.
Andre Russell and Samuels combined brilliantly to slam the Indian bowlers to all parts of the ground enroute to their 31-ball 50-run partnership. This left West Indies needing to score at more than 11 runs an over off the last 10 overs.
Andre Russell smashed 46 off just 23 balls to give the West Indies some hope of pulling off an improbable win. The all-rounder looked in ominous touch, sending balls carting all around the park, and with Samuels for company helped WI stay within touching distance.
Marlon Samuels brought up his 2nd hundred of the series, but West Indies were staring at defeat 251/8, needing 80 off 29 balls. The right-hander had struggled to get into his groove at the start, but turned out to be one of the few Windies batsmen to show their worth.
India were led by brilliant performances by Kohli(127), Raina(71), Bhuvneshwar(2/25) and Axar(2/26) as the hosts defeated WI by 59 runs.
In the end, you would have to say that it was a comfortable 59-run win for India, even though they let West Indies score freely after picking up early wickets. When West Indies were reduced to 121/5, it looked like India were quickly going to wrap things up, but Samuels and Russell hit some lusty blows to keep the game wide open. Samuels scored his 7th ODI hundred, but the Indian bowlers managed to get the breakthroughs at the fag end to dent the visitors. Well, it was announced initially that West Indies are calling off the remainder of the tour after this match, but they've made a U-turn, with their board denying any such claims. A decision is expected to be taken after the end of this match and at the moment, no one knows what is happening. We will get some clarity at the presentation.
Marlon Samuels ton went in vain for the visitors. ©Reuters