Dhoni, bowlers give India unassailable series lead
Mahendra Singh Dhoni and the bowlers fashioned India's 93-run win over a lacklustre West Indies in the third ODI, giving the visitors an unassailable lead in the five-match series here.
India overcame a bad start to post 251 for four on a slowish surface, largely due to the efforts of Dhoni (78 no off 79), Kedar Jadhav (40 no off 26) and Ajinkya Rahane (72 off 112).
The Indian bowlers then proved too good for the inexperienced West Indies' batting line-up, dismissing the hosts for 158 in 38.1 overs.
Hardik Pandya (2/32) used the short ball effectively while chinaman Kuldeep Yadav (3/41) was impressive again, foxing the opposition with his wrong ones. Offie Ravichandran Ashwin (3/28), on a comeback trail after injury, troubled the batsmen with his accuracy.
India now lead the series 2-0 after the series opener was washed out. The fourth ODI will also take place at the Sir Vivian Richards here on Sunday. The West Indies had a good opportunity to prove their mettle after a decent effort with the ball. However, the batting let them down again. Umesh Yadav (1/32) swung the ball beautifully in his opening spell. It took him just two balls to strike as he bowled left-hander Evin Lewis with a fast inswinger. Hope brothers, Shai (24) and debutant Kyle (19), then added 45 runs for the second wicket before falling to the short-pitch tactics of Pandya.
The consolation for the West Indies was the 54-run stand for the sixth wicket between Rovman Powell (30) and Jason Mohammed (40). But the remaining slim hopes were dashed with Kuldeep getting Powell caught at deep midwicket off a wrong one.