Windies v India, 5th ODI: Who Said What

Virat Kohli and his men reigned supreme in the Caribbean as they clinch the series 3-1. India went into the 5 match ODI series as firm favourites and justified their position brilliantly. After suffering a horrific against Pakistan in the Champions Trophy final, the series victory in the West Indies was a much-needed one.

The inaugural match got abandoned due to rain, but India started the tournament with a bang by winning the next two comprehensively. Jason Holder and his troop put up a valiant bowling performance, led by the skipper himself to ensure a win in the 4^th ODI. The stage was perfectly set for the final hurrah at Jamaica, as the Indians enjoyed a narrow lead.

Batting first, the West Indies line-up faltered again and could manage a minimal score of 205 in their 50 overs. The Indians made the run chase look like a cakewalk as they cruised to victory in the 37^th over itself. Virat Kohli stole the show with a brilliant hundred (111*) and also bagged the Man of the Match award. Dinesh Karthik scored a crucial 50, which provided support to the skipper appropriately.

Opener Ajinkya Rahane was rewarded with the Man of the series trophy for his stellar and consistent display throughout the series. Rahane was picked in place of Rohit Sharma and the batsman capitalised on the opportunity accurately.

Ajinkya Rahane

Ajinkya Rahane pointed out that he enjoyed batting on the sluggish tracks of the Caribbean and always tends to be at his best with the willow in hand. The right-handed batsman seemed desperate to make his performances count for the national team.

” I really want to make it count, and even in the Champions Trophy, I had been batting well in the nets. This wicket was slightly better as compared to the previous games. The ball was coming on nicely, and this was the best wicket to bat on. I was just trying to enjoy my batting. ODI cricket is all about enjoying your batting and go at your own pace. Whenever I go to bat, I always look to give my best, today me and Shikhar tried our best to get India off to a good start.”

Rahane also said that all the members of the team are living up to their expectations when given the chance and that is a positive sign for the team. Rahane intends to learn from his mistakes and is thoroughly enjoying the opportunity.

 If you carry 15-16 members in the squad, it’s important to believe in their abilities. If you are playing for the nation, you have to be good at this level. People are grabbing their opportunities. DK, Kuldeep have been good. Shami is playing an ODI almost after two years, hats off to those guys for grabbing the opportunities. I have always been a batsman that’s played the situation and that’s something that has never changed. I still think the same way I used to when I wasn’t the captain. It’s a taking a bit more responsibility for the guys at the other end. That’s always a nice thing to learn and also makes you understand the game better as well. I’m relishing the opportunity

Virat Kohli

Virat Kohli was happy that the team was successful in winning the series which was their main aim. He praised the performances of Ajinkya Rahane and Shikhar Dhawan at the top of the order. He hailed youngster Kuldeep Yadav for a sensational debut series.

First and foremost, the aim was to win the series, have a complete team performance and a couple of standout performances. Special mention to Rahane who has been consistent throughout the series. It has been a while in ODI cricket and the way he batted was outstanding. Shikhar was really good at the top as well. Kuldeep Yadav with the ball was also outstanding. Every time with the ball, we were on the button and been consistent. Really pleased with the whole team effort. Today was another clinical performance from us. Winning convincingly in a chase is always a nice feeling and something we aim to do as a team. I didn’t want to disappoint you (Darren Ganga)

Virat Kohli made it clear that the only thing that matters to him is taking his team home. The skipper does not focus on individual stats and plays for the team. He praised Dinesh Karthik for his composed half-century in the final match.

You mentioned, two failures in the last 2 games, for me it is all about getting the team across the line. I never look at stats and numbers. For me it is all about looking at the scoreboard and focus on what I need to achieve. Which bowlers to target and when we need to give respect to the bowlers. Even if it is a big total or small total I like playing with the tempo of the game. Stringing partnerships help. DK and Rahane have been excellent. Communication really helps. General mindset is to get the team across the line.

Jason Holder

The West Indies skipper looked disappointed as his team failed to capitalise on the good start. Holder admitted to the fact that the team needs to work very hard to improve their consistency.

We got a very good start. Unfortunately Kyle Hope got out when we were building some momentum. I just hope that the guys learn quickly. I can only control what I can control. It’s a relatively inexperienced side and hope we get some results our way going forward. The pitch was good throughout the entire game. We just didn’t capitalise. We lost wickets at crucial stages and never recovered from there. Our bowling has been good in few of the games, and that will be the positives I’ll be taking from this series. Still a lot of work to be done in terms of consistency.