VISAKHAPATNAM, India, CMC – In-form Shai Hope and Nicholas Pooran carved out contrasting half-centuries but Kuldeep Yadav’s dramatic hat-trick crippled West Indies’ run chase and propelled India to a series-levelling 107-run victory in the second One-Day International here yesterday.
Chasing a mammoth 388 at the ACA-VDCA Stadium after openers Rohit Sharma (159) and KL Rahul (102) slammed scintillating hundreds, West Indies were challenging at 192 for three in the 30th over and creating some worry in the Indian ranks
But Kuldeep intervened with his left-arm spin to knock over Hope, Jason Holder (11) and Alzarri Joseph (0) in successive deliveries in the 33rd over as West Indies lost their last seven wickets for 88 runs to be all out for 280 in the 44th.
Hope stroked a top score of 78 off 85 deliveries while Pooran unleashed a breathtaking 47-ball 75 but their dismissals ended all hope of pulling off the record run chase.
With the game gone, all-rounder Keemo Paul lashed a stroked-filled 46 from 40 balls, in an attempt to take some of the shine off India’s convincing win.
Kuldeep finished with three for 52 while seamer Mohammed Shami picked up three for 39, including the key wickets of Pooran and captain Kieron Pollard (0) off successive deliveries in the 30th over.
The victory saw India avoid a series defeat to West Indies and turn Sunday’s final game in Cuttack into a series decider.
Sent in, India flourished through Rohit and Rahul, the pair posting an astonishing 227 at the top of the order – a record first wicket stand for the hosts against West Indies.
Rohit, a deserving Man-of-the-Match, crunched 17 fours and five sixes in a knock lasting 138 balls while Rahul chipped in with eight fours and three sixes off 104 deliveries.
Rahul, though, was first to his 50 off 46 balls in the 16th over and Rohit followed in the 22nd over, bringing up his landmark off 67 balls by pulling seamer Paul to the square boundary.
Capitalising on a dropped chance on 70, Rohit raced to his 28th ODI hundred off 107 balls in the 34th over and Rohit joined him three overs later, reaching his fifth one-day century off 103 balls.
The stand ended when Rahul was taken at third man off pacer Alzarri Joseph off the final ball of the same over and the Caribbean side struck again in the next over, the 38th, when Pollard removed his opposite number Virat Kohli for a first-ball ‘duck’.
However Shreyas Iyer, who slammed 53 from 32 deliveries, then put on a further 60 for the third wicket with Rohit and 73 for the fourth wicket with Pant (39), to get India up to their second highest-ever total against West Indies and ninth highest total overall.
Needing to score at nearly eight runs an over, Hope and Lewis gave West Indies a solid, if not dashing, start to their run chase when they posted 61 off 66 balls to deny India early success.
Surviving a chance at slip off the fourth ball of the innings before he had scored, Hope struck seven fours and three sixes while the left-handed Lewis punched five fours in a 35-ball stay at the crease.
With the required run rate steadily rising, Lewis held out to deep square off pacer Shardul Thakur in the 11th over and first-match century-maker Shimron Hetmyer lasted just seven balls before he was run out for four going for a second run in the 14th over.
When left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja squared up Roston Chase (4) and rocked back his off-stump, West Indies were reeling at 86 for three in the 16th over – having lost three wickets for 25 runs in the space of 30 balls.
Pooran then entered to unveil a gem of an innings, belting half-dozen fours and sixes in an up tempo 106-run fourth wicket stand with Hope to give the Windies hope.
While Hope reached his fifty off 58 deliveries, Pooran wasted little time in racing to his – the fourth of a promising career – off 34 balls in the 27th over with disdainful pull to the mid-wicket boundary off pacer Deepak Chahar.
Dropped on 22 in the 24th over, Pooran eventually perished in the 30th over, top-edging Shami to Iyer at long leg and off the very next ball, Pollard edged one that left him and was caught at the wicket.
Hope was eyeing a third straight ODI hundred when he swung Kuldeep to Kohli at deep mid-wicket. Holder, who had crossed, was then deceived and stumped by Pant and Joseph edged a prod to Kedar Jadhav at slip, to give Kuldeep the second hat-trick of his career.