India pulled off a remarkable 96-run victory in the third and final ODI of the series to complete a whitewash against West Indies at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Friday, February 11. Chasing 266 to win, West Indies batters once again failed to put up a collective performance as they were eventually bowled out for 169 runs, largely due to the efforts of Prasidh Krishna (3/27), Mohammed Siraj (3/29) and a returning Kuldeep Yadav, who showed he can still make it at the highest level with figures of 2/51. India vs West Indies 2022: KL Rahul, Axar Patel Ruled Out of T20I Series, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Deepak Hooda Named Replacements
The way India won would belie their batting performance, with the top-order failing to make a mark once again. Virat Kohli was dismissed for a duck and skipper Rohit Sharma, who opened the innings alongside Shikhar Dhawan, too could not make much of an impact. Things looked very grim for India at 42/3 but Shreyas Iyer and Rishabh Pant came to India's rescue with a 110-run partnership. The duo brought stability to the Indian innings and ensured that a similar collapse, like what happened in the second ODI, happened again. India did lose Pant (56) thereafter but Iyer continued, making the most of this opportunity to score a gritty 80. Cameos from Deepak Chahar (38) and Washington Sundar (33) ensured that India got a competitive total on board.
The West Indies batting--like it has been all series, continued to fail as they were reduced to 28/3. Barring Nicholas Pooran (34) and some late resistance from Alzarri Joseph (19) and Odean Smith (39), no other Windies batter got going. Prasidh Krishna was the wrecker-in-chief and Kuldeep Yadav made a memorable return as India eventually won the contest, despite Joseph-Smith partnering to score 41 runs. Virat Kohli Reaches Unwanted Milestones With Duck in India vs West Indies 3rd ODI 2022
Let us take a look at stat highlights of this match:
# India whitewashed West Indies for the very first time in an ODI series. Rohit Sharma becomes the first-ever Indian captain to achieve the feat.
#Prasidh Krishna now has 18 wickets, the most by an Indian pacer after their first 7 ODI matches
#This victory was Rohit Sharma's 11th in 13 ODIs.
#Virat Kohli registered his 15th duck in ODIs, the most by an Indian batter batting from positions 1-7.
#He failed to cross more than 50+ runs in an ODI for the first time since 2015
The focus of both teams now would shift to the T20Is which would be played at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. West Indies would aim to bounce back on this tour while India would try to ensure that they keep on doing the good work they've done so far.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 11, 2022 10:31 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).