India vs West Indies 2022, 3rd ODI - Who Said What

India showcased a clinical performance in the third and final ODI against the West Indies at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad to register a series whitewash but more importantly,  Rohit Sharma’s first-ever stint as a full-time white-ball skipper got off to a flying start.

The Indian team under Rohit had whitewashed New Zealand in the three-match home T20I series in November and have now proved their mettle in the 50-overs format as well. The Men In Blue got the job done despite a late scare from the lower-order duo of Alzarri Joseph and Odean Smith.

A target of 266 seemed to be a mountain to climb for the visitors with the Indian bowlers making the most of the surface in the second innings. Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer’s 110-run partnership proved to be decisive in the end as they resurrected the Indian innings when they had lost three wickets very early. Handy contributions from Washington Sundar (33) and Deepak Chahar (38) at the backend did wonders for India in posting a challenging total.

India needed their bowlers to come out all guns blazing in the second innings and that is exactly what they did. Last game’s hero Prasidh Krishna and Test specialist Mohammed Siraj worked in tandem and registered three scalps each to break the Caribbean backbone. Prasidh finished with figures of 3/27 from 8.1 overs at an economy of 3.3 including a maiden to hand India a 96-run win in the third ODI.

Winning skipper, Rohit Sharma said:

“Definitely not looking at those numbers (captaincy record). Have ticked a lot of boxes in this series. Whatever we wanted to get out of this series, we pretty much got. Noise will be around as long as we’re playing. People look up to us, everybody watches us. As players, as individuals, we know what we need to focus on. Outside noise doesn’t bother the dressing room. Said it in the last game as well – never seen something like that in India (Prasidh’s spell). Good to have someone who can hit the deck and get that bounce. Although I didn’t feel like this was Indian conditions, was good to see the fast bowlers actually. Was also impressed with Siraj. And then Shardul and Deepak did the job for us. Both Kuldeep and Chahal are crucial players for us. Especially Kuldeep. Chahal was very much in the plans and Kuldeep went off the radar. It was important to get him back slowly. Important to give them that confidence. We start expecting things early than expected, important to give them some cushion. Pretty sure we’ll see them together soon. That was the biggest takeaway for us – the middle-order batting. Today was again a great game for the middle order. We were 40/3. For me, that’s the biggest takeaway.”

Losing skipper, Nicholas Pooran said:

“Must say congratulations to India. The way we bowled in the series was wonderful. Have a lot of work to do in 50 overs. The way the guys bowled in the last two games was fantastic. Have a lot of work to put in in the longer formats”.

Player of the Match Shreyas Iyer said:

“Life was tough for me in the last couple of months. Had Covid. Was tough. I’m flexible to bat at any number. But given current situation, four is a good number. Pressure situation like today, I thrive on it. Today’s situation – I had to play off the new ball. You need to have really good skills. There’s a rhythm you have to set to your innings. It’s not easy.”

Player of the Series Prasidh Krishna said:

“Now that I’ve been practicing a lot – played a few VH games as well – so there’s a lot of overs in me. Anything going to the keeper and to the slips – I love that. Quite nice to see the ball getting the carry. Glad that there are people behind who aren’t going to miss the opportunity. Ball flying to the keeper – something every fast bowler wants. The kind of guys we have in the team are very good, we’ve been learning off each other. Still being grounded that way. Been a team effort.”