India thump W.Indies by 8 wickets to clinch ODI series

Riding on skipper Virat Kohli's unbeaten century, India defeated the West Indies by eight wickets in the fifth and final One-Day International (ODI) at the Sabina Park here.

India have thus clinched the five-ODI series by a 3-1 margin. They had earlier won the second and third ODIs while the hosts clinched an upset win in the fourth game. The opening match of the series was washed out by rain.

During Thursday's game, Kohli led the way with an unbeaten 111 while middle-order batsman Dinesh Karthik remained not out on 50.

"This win is very satisfying. The batting plans did not come together in the last game. That can happen when there is a low total. We have seen a lot of low total wins in the past, specially defending the low totals," Kohli was quoted as saying by Cricinfo after the match..

"We were in a zone where pressure builds up when runs are hard to come by," he added.

"The intent today was not to get stuck and string in too many dot balls. For that you need a clear mindset on when to get a boundary and when to keep the scoreboard ticking. After a disappointing last game, today was really clinical and we are really happy with that."

West Indies skipper Jason Holder was unhappy with his team's batting performance although he praised his bowlers.

"We were unable to keep our wickets intact. We lost wickets every time we seemed to be gathering momentum. I felt we could have consolidated a little more," he said.

"Having said that, I must give credit to the bowlers. They have done well through most of the series. So credit to them," he added.

Chasing 206, India started on a poor note as opener Shikhar Dhawan (4) was sent back to the pavilion in the first over by pacer Alzarri Joseph.

Incoming batsman Kohli and opener Ajinkya Rahane (39) then added 79 runs for the second wicket to stabilise the Indian innings.

But, just when things seemed to be in control, Rahane was adjudged leg before wicket off Devendra Bishoo in the 19th over.

Unperturbed by the fall of Rahane's wicket, Kohli displayed his class and waited for the poor balls. Soon, Kohli along with Karthik started thrashing West Indies bowlers all around the park and chased down the total with 79 balls remaining.

Kohli slammed 12 boundaries and two sixes in his 115 ball knock while Karthik's 52-ball knock was comprised of five boundaries.

For the West Indies, Joseph and Bishoo chipped in with a wicket each.

Earlier, Mohammed Shami bagged a four-wicket haul as India restricted the West Indies to 205/9.

The Bengal pacer decimated the hosts' lower-middle order to return figures of 4/48 in his 10 overs.

Fellow pacer Umesh Yadav also did well to return with the figures of 3/53.

Shai Hope was the most successful among the West Indies batsmen with 51 runs off 98 balls.

Shai waged a lone battle along with opener Kyle Hope, who scored a breezy 46 off 50 deliveries before being sent back by Umesh Yadav.

The hosts were off to a slow start with openers Evan Lewis and Kyle struggling to find the gaps.

Lewis crawled his way to nine runs off 20 deliveries before a mistimed attempt to hit pacer Hardik Pandya over mid-off saw him hand an easy catch to Virat Kohli.

Kyle and Shai joined forces and were building up what seemed to be a potentially promising partnership but Kyle pulled a Yadav delivery into the hands of Shikhar Dhawan at midwicket.

Yadav tasted another success with his very next delivery when he trapped Roston Chase leg before.

The twin blows prompted the hosts to become extra cautious and the run rate crawled along at snail's pace as Shai and Jason Mohammed added 39 runs between them over the next 14.3 overs.

Following Mohammed's dismissal, Jason Holder tried to up the ante with 36 runs off 34 deliveries before being sent back by Shami. Shai followed him back to the pavilion soon after.

However, Rovman Powell seemed set to end the West Indies innings on a high note with a 32-ball 31. But he did not get much support at the other end as the Indians picked up wickets at regular intervals.

Brief scores:

West Indies: 205/9 in 50 overs (Shai Hope 51, Kyle Hope 46; Mohammed Shami 4/48, Umesh Yadav 3/53) vs India: 206/2 (Virat Kohli 111 not out, Dinesh Karthik 50 not out; Alzzari Joseph 1/39).

--IANS

ajb/vt