India vs Windies: 3rd ODI, Review- Virat Kohli's 38th ODI ton in vain; visitors draw level in series

Samuels castled Kohli in the 42nd over to severely dent India's hopes of a victory.

Published - 27 Oct 2018, 21:29 IST | Updated - 27 Oct 2018, 21:29 IST

3 Min Read

The Windies would’ve been disappointed in Visakhapatnam for the reason that they couldn’t manage to get over the line. Nonetheless, they made amends and comprehensively rolled over India in the third encounter at MCA Stadium in Pune by 43 runs despite Virat Kohli’s 38th ODI century. Most importantly, Jason Holder and Co drew level and kept their hopes alive in the series.

Hope lifts the Windies

India won the toss and had no hesitation to field first on what seemed like another decent batting wicket. Kieran Powell and Chandrapaul Hemraj played out the initial few overs and Jasprit Bumrah, playing his first match of the series, accounted for the dismissal of both in a space of a couple of overs. Right-hander Marlon Samuels flattered to deceive the third time in a row.

Left-arm seamer Khaleel Ahmed got rid of him in the 14th over. Shimron Hetmyer threatened with a knock of 37 runs from 21 balls, but Kuldeep Yadav dismissed him much to the visiting team’s agony. The Chinaman picked up his second wicket in the form of Rovman Powell. The Windies found themselves in a precarious position having lost half their side inside the 25th over.

Skipper Jason Holder and Shai Hope rescued them with a 76-run stand and it was Bhuvneshwar Kumar who nipped out the captain for 32 runs. Fabian Allen couldn’t impressive in his maiden international appearance and was dismissed for five. Hope went on to score 95 and coupled with Ashley Nurse’s 22-ball 40, the Windies ended with a formidable 283/9 in their 50 overs.

Kohli fights a lone battle

The run-chase didn’t start on an auspicious note for the Men in Blue as Rohit Sharma succumbed early. Nevertheless, Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli injected momentum into the innings with a partnership of 79 runs, which was broken by Nurse with the scalp of Dhawan. Ambati Rayudu looked good for the brief phase, however, left-armer Obed McCoy got the better of him.

With three batsmen back in the hut, Rishabh Pant and Kohli put their heads down. Unfortunately, Nurse removed Pant after the southpaw scored 24 runs from 18 balls. MS Dhoni’s poor run of form continued as he could only contribute seven runs from 11 balls. At the other end, Virat notched his half-century in 62 balls and then went on to muster his 38th ODI ton in 110 deliveries.

The 29-year-old also became the first Indian to rack up three successive ODI tons. To India’s despair, Samuels castled him in the 42nd over to severely dent India’s hopes of a victory. Thereafter, Kuldeep Yadav tried his heart out, but the required rate kept climbing and eventually the Caribbean team managed to brush aside the home team without dropping much sweat.