CUTTACK: A big opening stand between Rohit Sharma and K.L. Rahul, Virat Kohli’s 85 and a late surge from Shardul Thakur and Ravindra Jadeja helped India chase down 316 and win the three-match series against the West Indies 2-1 at the Barabati Stadium here on Sunday.
The West Indies seemed to have gained the upper hand after dismissing Kohli late in the game, but Thakur came in and turned the game around with the bat to see the hosts home.
India’s chase started with yet another strong opening stand between Rahul (77) and Rohit (63). The pair put up 122 runs in just 21.2 overs to put India firmly in the driving seat.
During the course of his knock, Rohit broke Sri Lanka great Sanath Jayasuriya’s 22-year-old record for most runs in a calendar year by an opener across formats. Rohit’s ninth run took his tally to 2,388 runs, which took him past Jayasuriya’s 1997 tally of 2,387 runs.
Rohit and Rahul kept India in cruise mode in the first 20 overs until Jason Holder got the breakthrough with the wicket of Rohit. Holder bowled a length delivery that had some extra bounce and Rohit ended up nicking it to Shai Hope behind the stumps.
Kohli and Rahul, however, seemed to continue the good work until the latter was done for pace by Alzarri Joseph. Joseph hurried Rahul into tucking the ball away off his hips which led to it ballooning straight into the hands of Hope.
The West Indies tightened the noose after that with Keemo Paul getting Shreyas Iyer and Rishabh Pant in quick succession. Kedar Jadhav then fell to Sheldon Cottrell and the match was poised on a knife’s edge with India 228/5 in 39 overs.
Ravindra Jadeja then held on with Kohli as the pair went about repairing the damage. The two stitched a counter attacking stand to tip the balance India’s favour.
Kohli (85) was nearing another century in a run chase before chopping a rather loose delivery by Keemo Paul on to his stumps.
However, Shardul Thakur came in and took the chase by its horns. He hit a four off the very first ball he faced and ended up smashing 17 off just six balls.
A tight run in the end seemed to have done the job, although there was an appeal for run out but Keemo Paul had overstepped which meant that the decision did not matter.
Earlier, a late flourish led by captain Kieron Pollard and Nicholas Pooran helped the West Indies set up a competitive target of 316 for India to chase. Pollard and Pooran put up a 135-run stand for the fifth wicket to revitalise the West Indies innings which was struggling until then.
17- India recorded their 17th successful 300+ run chase, becoming the team with most such chases in ODI cricket.
10 - This is India’s 10th straight bilateral series win against West Indies, going past the run of 9 series wins against SL.
ROHIT, KOHLI SHATTER MORE RECORDS
- Rohit Sharma broke Sanath Jayasuriya’s record of most international runs in a calendar year as an opener across formats.
- Rohit’s knock of 63 on Sunday took his tally to 2442 runs in 2019, going past Jayasuriya’s 2387 runs scored in 1997.
- Captain Virat Kohli scored a sublime 85 on Sunday, taking his tally of international runs this year to 2455.
