Virat Kohli's ton in vain as West Indies beat India in 3rd ODI

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India skipper Virat Kohli`s 38th ODI ton went in vain as a disciplined West Indies came back strongly to win the third One-day International by 43 runs at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium on Saturday.

Chasing a healthy 284, India looked on course with Kohli belting an excellent 107 off 119 balls, his third consecutive century of the series, and opener Shikhar Dhawan scoring 35 before a middle order collapse, coupled with some disciplined bowling bundled the hosts out for 240 in 47.4 overs.

For the Windies, veteran all-rounder Marlon Samuels turned out to be wrecker-in-chief, with his off-spinners, returning figures of 3/12 while skipper Jason Holder, Obed McCoy and Ashley Nurse picked two wickets each.

Kohli became the first Indian and 10th overall to score three consecutive centuries in the One-day format but it could not prevent the West Indies from tasting their first win of the tour.

Earlier, the tourists scored 283 runs at the end of their 50 overs following excellent performances from wicketkeeper Shai Hope and Ashley Nurse. For India, bowlers Jasprit Bumrah and Kuldeep Yadav were the ones to watch out for in a clinical clash.

India looked on course at one stage thanks to skipper Virat Kohli who was going all guns blazing till he was dismissed. He hit 10 boundaries and one six in his 119-ball knock before Samuels got his back.

Kohli tried to pull a quicker one by Samuels, but missed it with the ball crashing onto the stumps.

After Kohli`s dismissal it was just a matter of time as Samuels added two more wickets to his kitty.

It then proved to be a tough job for the Indian tail-enders as the Windies scripted a rare win.

Kohli walked in early after the fall of Rohit Sharma (8). He notched up his fifty with a pull shot and eventually reached the three-figure mark with a single down to fine leg in the company of Bhuvanehwar Kumar (10).

Shikhar Dhawan (35), Ambati Rayadu (22) and Rishabh Pant (24) got starts but failed to convert them as the Windies bowlers stuck at regular intervals.

A lot was expected from veteran Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who was dropped from the West Indies and Australia T20 series. However, he perished for mere 7, gifting Holder his second wicket.

In the first innings, a disciplined Indian bowling attack restricted the West Indies to a healthy 283/9. The visitors enjoyed a notable contribution from wicket-keeper Shai Hope, who smashed a 113-ball 95 to help his side reach a fighting total.

Put into bat, the West Indies were off to a poor start as Bumrah struck twice to dismiss openers Kieran Powell (21) Chandrapaul Hemraj (15) within the first nine overs with the scorecard reading 38/2.

Hope, who had come after the fall of Powell, was joined by Marlon Samuels, who too, fell cheaply after scoring just nine runs.

Shimron Hetmyer and Hope then added 56 runs for the fourth wicket, taking West Indies past the 100-run mark. Just when the partnership looked settled, Hetmyer, while trying to go big, missed the ball and Dhoni made no mistake in dislodging his bails, leaving the visitors reeling at 111/4.

Kuldeep, who dismissed Hetmyer, also got the better off incoming batsman Rovman Powell, who could manage to contribute just nine runs as the visitors were left reeling at 121/5.

Holder was then involved in a crucial 76-run partnership with Hope before Bhuvneshwar Kumar struck to dismiss the former on an individual score of 31.

Brief Scores: West Indies 283/9 (Shai Hope 95, Ashley Nurse 40, Shimron Hetmyer 37) beat India 240 (Virat Kohli 107, Shikhar Dhawan 35; Marlon Samuels 3/12, Obed McCoy 2/38) by 43 runs.