PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC – West Indies failed to rekindle the mettle of the first two games and crumbled to a timid defeat in the final One-Day International against India here yesterday, suffering their third consecutive ODI whitewash and fourth in six series this year.
In pursuit of a revised target of 257 off 35 overs after rain abruptly ended India’s innings at 225 for three off 36 overs, West Indies produced a shambolic run chase and were all out for meagre 137 off 26 overs, to lose by 119 runs under Duckworth-Lewis-Stern.
Captain Nicholas Pooran and Brandon King both struck 42 while opener Shai Hope got a start with 22 but leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal (4-17) scythed through the hosts’ innings with support from seamers Mohammed Siraj (2-14) and Shardul Thakur (2-17).
Man-of-the-Match Shubman Gill had earlier found himself stranded agonisingly short of his maiden ODI hundred in his sixth appearance when the last of two showers abruptly ended the India innings.
The 22-year-old, also adjudged Man-of-the-Series, struck a run-a-ball 98 not out with seven fours and two sixes while captain Shikhar Dhawan provided support with 58 off 74 deliveries and Shreyas Iyer, 44 off 34 balls.
For West Indies, the defeat proved anticlimactic especially on the heels of energetic displays in the opening matches when they twice surpassed 300 runs.
“It’s a tough one for us. I felt like we could’ve been on the other side of the series but it didn’t happen for us,” Pooran said afterwards.
“[It] felt like we did a lot of right things in the first two games and as a team, we want to keep it there. Today, we didn’t show up – everyone saw that. But that’s fine, it happens in games.
“It’s a lot of games in a short space of time as well but I think we definitely turned up for this series and we tried our best, and I’m happy with the way the guys performed in this series.”
Shubman and Dhawan dominated early on with a century-run opening stand worth 113 which was finally ended in the 23rd over when the left-handed Dhawan miscued leg-spinner Hayden Walsh (2-57) to Pooran at mid-wicket after counting seven fours.
And Shreyas then arrived to lash four fours and a six in a breezy knock while posting 86 for the second wicket with Shubman, India accelerating their scoring after the innings was capped at 40 overs due to the first rain break.
Shreyas and Suryakumar Yadav (8) perished in the space of ten deliveries, however, before rain arrived for the second time to end the innings for good.
Needing to score at nearly 7-½ runs per over, West Indies endured the worst possible start when Siraj cleaned up Kyle Mayers and Shamarh Brooks – both without scoring – in the second over without a run on the board.
Mayers missed one that swung and had his stumps shattered while Brooks played around a straight one and was hit plumb in front.
West Indies recovered somewhat, King stroking five fours and a six off 37 balls and Hope lashing one six in a 33-ball knock as they added 47 for the third wicket.
But with the required run rate climbing, Hope charged Chahal and was stumped in the tenth over and King put on a further 30 with Pooran before succumbing, comprehensively bowled by one that came on with the arm from left-armer Axar Patel.
Tottering on 74 for four in the 14th over, West Indies tried to salvage the run chase through a 29-run, fifth wicket stand engineered by Pooran, the left-hander smashing five fours and a six off 32 deliveries.
But Keacy Carty’s (5) demise, bowled off the edge advancing down to Shardul signalled the final decline for West Indies as their last six wickets went down for 34 runs.