adminPUNE. — Shai Hope’s 95 and a brilliant all-round performance by Ashley Nurse helped West Indies stun India by 43 runs in the third one-day international cricket match on Saturday as the tourists levelled the series at 1-1.
Skipper Virat Kohli’s record third successive century went in vain as India were bowled out for 240 in 47.4 overs while chasing 284 in Pune.
Nurse took two crucial wickets with his off spin after his 22-ball 40 guided the tourists to 283-9. Hope top-scored for West Indies during his 113-ball knock.
In reply India lost wickets at regular intervals with only Kohli holding the fort during his 119-ball 107 before being bowled by part-time spinner Marlon Samuels.
Samuels took three wickets with his off spin while skipper Jason Holder and fellow paceman Obed McCoy also picked two wickets each to flatten India’s chase.
Holder bowled opener Rohit Sharma for eight and later got Mahendra Singh Dhoni caught behind for seven as India slipped to 215-6.
Kohli, who came into the match at the back of his 140 and 157 not out in the first and second match, made 107 to become the first Indian batsman to hit three back-to-back ODI tons.
Nicknamed King Kohli, the prolific run-getter carried on from where he left off in Visakhapatnam when he became the quickest to reach 10 000 ODI runs in his 205th innings.
But after scoring his 38th ODI century in his 214th ODI he saw his stumps rattled by Samuels with India needing another 64 runs.
Samuels soon disposed off the Indian lower-order, returning figures of 3-12 in his 3.4 overs. Earlier, Indian fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah returned impressive figures of 4-35 to dent the opposition batting with regular strikes but Hopes and Nurse had other ideas. Hope, who made 123 for West Indies in the tied game on Wednesday, put on a crucial 76-run sixth wicket stand with skipper Jason Holder, who made 32, to lift the visitors from early losses. – AFP.
Online Reporter