Pune, India skipper Virat Kohli’s 38th ODI ton went in vain as a disciplined West Indies came back strongly to win the third One-day International by 43 runs at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium here on Saturday.
Chasing a healthy 284, India looked on course with Kohli belting an excellent 107 off 119 balls, his third consecutive century of the series, and opener Shikhar Dhawan scoring 35 before a middle order collapse, coupled with some disciplined bowling bundled the hosts out for 240 in 47.4 overs.
For the Windies, veteran all-rounder Marlon Samuels turned out to be wrecker-in-chief, with his off-spinners, returning figures of 3/12 while skipper Jason Holder, Obed McCoy and Ashley Nurse picked two wickets each.
Kohli became the first Indian and 10th overall to score three consecutive centuries in the One-day format but it could not prevent the West Indies from tasting their first win of the tour.
Earlier, the tourists rode stumper Shai Hope’s 113-ball 95 and a valuable 22-ball 40 from Nurse, lower down the order to put 283/9 at the end of their 50 overs. For India, pacer Jasprit Bumrah scalped four wickets in his comeback match.
India looked on course thanks to skipper kohli who was going all guns blazing till he was dismissed.
He hit 10 boundaries and a one six in his 119-ball knock before Samuels got his back. Kohli tried to pull a quicker one by Samuels, but missed it and the ball came onto the stumps.
After Kohli’s dismissal it was just a matter of time. Samuels added two more wickets to his kitty. It then proved to be a tough job for the Indian tail-enders as the Windies scripted a rare win.
Kohli walked in early after the fall of Rohit Sharma (8). He notched up his fifty with a pull shot and eventually reached the three-figure mark with a single down to fine leg in company of Bhuvanehwar Kumar (10).
Shikhar Dhawan (35), Ambati Rayadu (22) and Rishabh Pant (24) got starts but failed to convert them as the Windies bowlers stuck at regular intervals.
A lot was expected from veteran Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who was dropped from the West Indies and Australia T20 series. But he fell for mere 7, giving Holder his second wicket.
In the first innings, a disciplined Indian bowling attack restricted the West Indies to a healthy 283/9.
The visitors found a notable contribution from wicket-keeper Shai Hope, who smashed a 113-ball 95 to help his side reach a fighting total.
India’s Jasprit Bumrah was the wrecker-in-chief, picking four wickets for just 35 runs, while Kuldeep Yadav bagged two for 52.
Put into bat, the West Indies were off to a poor start as Bumrah struck twice to dismiss openers Kieran Powell (21) Chandrapaul Hemraj (15) within the first nine overs with the scorecard reading 38/2.
Hope, who had come after the fall of Powell, was joined by Marlon Samuels, who too, fell cheaply after scoring just nine runs.
Shimron Hetmyer and Hope then added 56 runs for the fourth wicket, taking West Indies past the 100-run mark. Just when the partnership looked settled, Hetmyer, while trying to go big, missed the ball and Dhoni made no mistake in dislodging his bails, leaving the visitors reeling at 111/4.
Kuldeep, who dismissed Hetmyer, also got the better off incoming batsman Rovman Powell, who could manage to contribute just nine runs as the visitors were left reeling at 121/5.
Holder was then involved in a crucial 76-run partnership with Hope before Bhuvneshwar Kumar struck to pack back the former on individual score of 31.
Brief Scores: West Indies 283/9 (Shai Hope 95, Ashley Nurse 40, Shimron Hetmyer 37; Jasprit Bumrah 4/35) beat India 240 (Virat Kohli 107, Shikhar Dhawan 35; Marlon Samuels 3/12, Obed McCoy 2/38) by 43 runs.
