The early wickets of Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli gave Team West Indies a little hope, but fifties by Ajinkya Rahane and former skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni steered India to build up a score of 251/4 in 50 overs in the third ODI of the five-match series at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua on Friday.
Barring Jason Mohammed, who top-scored with 40 and Rovman Powell, who made a gritty 30, none of the batsmen put up much of a resistance. As a result, India won the ODI againt the West Indian side by 93 runs, with the hosts having reduced to 158.
Spinners Kuldeep Yadav and R Ashwin shared six wickets each.
Former captain MS Dhoni struggled too and in the 39th over, he survived a couple of chances.
Having played in the trademark Dhoni style, he went on to score his 63rd half-century to help India finish at a competitive 251/4.
Kedar Jadhav gave him good company, as the duo put on unbeaten 81 runs for the fifth wicket in just over seven overs. Kedar Jadhav hit 30 off just 20 deliveries whereas Dhoni compensated for his slow start and finished with 78 off 79 deliveries.
Dhoni also shared a 70-run partnership with Ajinkya Rahane, who made an impressive 72 off 112 balls.
Dhoni was adjudged the man of the match.
Skipper Virat Kohli praised Rahane, Dhoni and Kedar Jadhav for batting well and helping them post a competitive total, while also adding that the collective performance has helped them win most of the games.
India have now taken an unassailable lead in the series and have totally outplayed the hosts in all the departments of the game. West Indies on the other hand will look to better their performance when they step out again at the same venue for the fourth ODI on July 2.
Earlier, West Indies won the toss and opted to field.
West Indies made two changes in their playing XI. Kyle Hope and wicketkeeper-batsman Sunil Ambris both made their debuts.
After the opening game was washed out, the Men in Blue came out with a comprehensive-overall performance and registered a massive 105-run win over the hosts in the second ODI.
India (Playing XI): Ajinkya Rahane, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli(c), Yuvraj Singh, Hardik Pandya, MS Dhoni(w), Kedar Jadhav, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umesh Yadav.
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