Both India and West Indies have made four changes to their playing elevens from Saturday's match at the same venue, where India won by 59 runs to seal the series and making Sunday's game a dead rubber, giving both teams a chance to test their bench strength.
After winning the toss, Pandya said that Rohit, Rishabh Pant, Suryakumar Yadav and Bhuvneshwar Kumar are rested from the fifth T20I.
"Batting gets slower in the second innings. We don't feel we are playing in Miami but in some Indian city. Fantastic to come abroad and get this support. We spoke to the boys that no matter what happens, we have set some standards for the Indian cricket team so the intensity and the attitude stays the same."
West Indies skipper Nicholas Pooran said Kyle Mayers, Brandon King, Alzarri Joseph and Akeal Hosein sit out of the playing eleven from the fifth T20I, with Shamarh Brooks, Hayden Walsh Jr., Odean Smith and Keemo Paul coming in.
"Wanted to bat first but that's fine. Need to restrict them and try and chase it. For us, we need to get better as a team, reduce mistakes and get better. We felt that St Kitts was a small venue. It's nice to have both him (Walsh Jr) and Akeal in the squad so we can use both spin options when needed."
Playing XIs
India: Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer, Sanju Samson, Hardik Pandya (captain), Deepak Hooda, Dinesh Karthik (wicket-keeper), Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Avesh Khan, Ravi Bishnoi and Arshdeep Singh.
West Indies: Shamarh Brooks, Shimron Hetmyer, Nicholas Pooran (captain), Devon Thomas (wicket-keeper), Jason Holder, Odean Smith, Keemo Paul, Dominic Drakes, Obed McCoy, Hayden Walsh Jr and Rovman Powell.
"I am very proud of the team, the way we have played this whole series. In every match, we showed character and turned those challenges into great opportunities for us. I am happy the way everyone has performed and chipped in. There have been a lot of positives from the team' perspective," said Dhawan in the post-match press conference.
Player of the series Shubman Gill made 205 runs in three innings, strengthening his case for being a future long-term ODI opener and looking at ease while facing pace and spin. He was followed by Dhawan, who finished as the second highest run-scorer in the series with 168 runs. Shreyas Iyer had fifties in first two matches while Sanju Samson had a half-century too and Axar Patel blasted his way to an unbeaten 64 in the second ODI.
"From a batting perspective, everyone got runs - like Shreyas Iyer, Shubman Gill, Sanju Samson and Axar Patel, which is a very huge sign for the batting unit. For all of them to have come here and score runs in completely different conditions after England tour is commendable. Be it be first innings or in the second innings, first or third match, playing with the same grit is a very huge thing," observed Dhawan.
With the ball, leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal and seam all-rounder Shardul Thakur were the leading wicket-takers with seven scalps each while Patel, Mohammed Siraj and Deepak Hooda were impressive too with the ball.
"In bowling (Mohammed) Siraj, Prasidh (Krishna), Shardul (Thakur) made good comeback in matches Yuzi (Yuzvendra Chahal) is experienced. Axar also chipped in. Even Hooda bowled well too. The entire bowling unit also did well. It feels good to see both the units performing. All the bowlers have done really well and the best part is we did well in both departments, it gives a lot of happiness," stated Dhawan.
Asked about his own batting performance in the series after a lean run against England, Dhawan remarked, "I am very happy with my own batting because I could feel the way I was hitting the shots and how the ball was coming on to my bat. With so much experience I know how to play with calmness and there was no hecticness with my batting. I feel good when I handle pressure in a much better way."
India had sprung a surprise in the rain-hit third ODI when Hooda opened the bowling with his part-time off-spin. It meant that he kept one end tight for India as Siraj took out Kyle Mayers and Shamrah Brooks in his first over, something from which West Indies never really recovered.
"When Deepak Hooda came to the squad, he could play the role of an all-rounder. The way he responded in the first couple of games, I understood that he could bowl even 7-8 overs instead of five overs. He bowled well not only to the left-handers, but also to the right-handers."
"In the first two games, we witnessed their left-handed batters had some difficulties in facing the off-spin and hence, we planned to use him upfront tonight as the fast bowlers weren't getting much swing. On seeing the wicket, felt that off-spinner can work well and when his first over was maiden, it was great," signed off Dhawan.
Though with the duo's fall, India looked in danger of missing the target, an unbeaten 64 from Axar Patel took the visitors over the line to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.
With talismanic batter Virat Kohli rested for the series, Iyer made the most of his opportunities of batting at number three in the series, scoring back-to-back fifties and insisting that batting in top-order is fun.
"I was really happy to get what score I got, but really unhappy with the way I was dismissed. I thought I could have taken the team through easily. I was setting up the total, but was very unfortunate with the wicket. Hopefully, I get to score a century in the next game."
"It's (number three) one of the best positions in ODIs as you go in at a tough situation if the openers have fallen. Then you have to see off the new ball and build an innings. If the openers have a really good partnership, you get to carry forward that momentum and see to it that run rate is maintained. It's a fun position to bat at and I really enjoy it," said Iyer in the post-match press conference.
Asked about his partnership with Samson, Iyer remarked, "We lost two back-to-back wickets. We were 60 for 3 (79/3), and from there, we had to rebuild. Sanju came in and he obviously showed a lot of intent. I was already batting. I had faced around 20 balls and was batting on 15.
"I knew what I was going to do, and Sanju at the same time, he faced a few balls, and then he went after the spinners. He hit them for two sixes, and suddenly, the momentum shifted towards us. From there onwards, we built on the partnership and carried forward the momentum towards us."
Iyer was pleased that his hard work in net sessions with head coach Rahul Dravid and batting coach Vikram Rathour was being rewarded in the form of back-to-back fifties in the ongoing series. "I have been working with them (Dravid and Rathour) for many years. We talk about technique and temperament on a match-to-match basis. Situations change and when we have team discussions, everyone talks.
"We don't come to a conclusion but learn from each other's views. It's a good conversation between us. Vikram Rathour sir and Rahul sir have been supportive throughout, he doesn't put much pressure on the mind in nets. They ask us to follow out routines very well and follow the processes."
Iyer signed off by saying that the atmosphere in the dressing room was tense during the last ten overs. "It was fun, to be honest. We were all sitting together, and Rahul sir was getting pretty tensed; he was passing on the message. I think a lot of players showed really good emotions out there and were very calm and composed in the pressure situation.
"Since we have played so many matches lately, I think we have already seen all these emotions. It was just another game for us. I think we did pretty well, especially Axar, the way he finished off, an outstanding knock."
As reported by PTI on Friday, Kohli will not be playing in the three-match T20 series against Sri Lanka beginning on February 24 in Lucknow followed by two more games at Dharamsala on February 26 and 27.
"Yes, Kohli has left home on Saturday morning as India have already won the series. As it has been decided by BCCI, it will be a policy to give all the regular all format players periodic breaks from the bubble to ensure that their workload management and mental health is taken care of," a senior BCCI official privy to the development told PTI on the condition of anonymity.
The Indian team for the Sri Lanka series will be picked later in the day.
Set to chase 186, West Indies needed 29 off the last two overs. But Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Harshal Patel kept their calm to bowl India to winning the match and series.
Kumar and Deepak Chahar kept the openers Brandon King and Kyle Mayers in check till the former drove down the ground. King and Mayers slammed a boundary each till Yuzvendra Chahal separated the duo in the final over of power-play. Chahal cramped Mayers for room, leading in the attempted flick giving a top-edge to the leg-spinner for an easy catch.
Pooran, who slammed a fifty in the first match, hit boundaries off Chahal and Patel to kickstart his innings. He was also fortunate in surviving a run-out attempt from Kohli. West Indies' struggle against spin continued as King skipped down the pitch to loft but holed out to long-on off Ravi Bishnoi.
Pooran received another life at 21 when Bishnoi dropped his catch off Chahal. To rub salt into the wound, Pooran slammed a colossal slog-sweep over deep square leg for six. Pooran then crunched Chahar for a fierce pull through deep mid-wicket. Powell, on the other hand, slammed a six each off Chahar and Bishnoi over long leg and long-off respectively to keep West Indies in the hunt.
Powell and Pooran collected a four each off Bishnoi as West Indies now needed 63 runs off the last five overs. Powell was given a reprieve at 38 when Kumar couldn't complete a catch off his own bowling. In the next over, Powell smoked Chahar over deep mid-wicket, which was followed by Pooran reaching his second fifty on the trot in 34 balls with a six over fine leg.
Powell reached his fifty in 28 balls as Pooran snatched a four off Patel to bring the equation to 29 runs off the last two overs. In a bid to go big, Pooran miscued the slog off Kumar and Bishnoi, under pressure at cover, held on to the catch. Kumar gave away just four runs in a brilliant 19th over.
But Powell hammered back-to-back sixes, including a 102-m hit, over long-on, to keep Patel under pressure. Patel, unfazed by the sixes, held his nerve to concede two singles in the last two balls to seal the series for India.
Brief Scores: India 186/5 in 20 overs (Rishabh Pant 52 not out, Virat Kohli 52, Roston Chase 3/25, Sheldon Cottrell 1/20) beat West Indies 178/3 in 20 overs (Rovman Powell 68 not out, Nicholas Pooran 62, Bhuvneshwar Kumar 1/29, Ravi Bishnoi 1/30) by eight runs
For the West Indies, off-spinner Roston Chase was the pick of the bowlers, taking 3/25 and leaving India in some trouble in the middle overs. But Pant and Iyer smoked 62 runs in the last five overs to give India a strong total to defend with dew coming into the equation.
After Akeal Hosein conceded four byes and two no-balls in a 10-run opening over, Sheldon Cottrell troubled Ishan Kishan with swing. The effort succeeded as Kishan's struggle ended with the left-handed batter trying to flick but gave a leading edge to point.
Kohli began his innings with a well-timed flick followed by a premeditated paddle off Akeal Hosein. Rohit Sharma was dropped on two by Brandon King at point and to rub salt on the wound, Sharma slammed a late cut through point off Cottrell in the same over.
Kohli and Sharma continued their boundary-hitting spree against Jason Holder in the fifth over. Kohli welcomed Holder with a crunchy drive through cover while Sharma pulled nonchalantly over mid-wicket for another boundary. Kohli then cracked back-to-back boundaries off Romario Shepherd on both sides of the 'v' while Sharma ended the power-play phase with a six mistimed over cover.
Post power-play, Sharma's innings was cut short at 19 when he tried to slog off Roston Chase but sliced to extra cover. Suryakumar Yadav got off the mark by using the pace off a ball from Hosein for a boundary past backward point. But in the next over, Yadav chipped a drive off the inner half of the bat and was snapped by Chase diving to his left.
From the other end, Kohli was taking ones and twos while cracking the occasional boundary. Kohli reached his fifty in 39 balls with a slog over long-on. He had luck on his side as Holder stationed at long-on couldn't hold on for the catch. But on the fourth ball, Kohli pushed forward for a single but was beaten by turn from Chase and was bowled through the gate.
Pant and Iyer amassed 29 runs from 15th and 16th overs collectively to set India up for a big flourish in the last four overs. The left-handed duo ran hard for their singles while slamming some lovely shots all around the ground. Pant's one-handed whip, resembling MS Dhoni's helicopter shot, was the standout shot from the partnership where he and Iyer were the aggressors in equal measure.
The 76-run partnership off just 35 balls ended when Shepherd sent Iyer's off-stump on a walk with a full yorker. Pant then reached his fifty on the second last ball of the innings to remain unbeaten on 52.
Brief Scores: India 186/5 in 20 overs (Rishabh Pant 52 not out, Virat Kohli 52, Roston Chase 3/25) against West Indies
The 21-year-old Bishnoi took 2/17 in his four overs to help India restrict West Indies for 157/7 at the Eden Gardens which the hosts chased for the loss of four wickets.
Bishnoi, who hails from Jodhpur and was the highest wicket-taker in the 2020'Men's U19 Cricket World Cup in South Africa with 17 scalps, said he was happy to make a good start in his first T20I on Wednesday.
"I was feeling very good, it's everyone's dream to play for India and I was feeling good. West Indies is one of the best T20 teams and I got the chance to play against them," he said after the match.
"I didn't think I would get Man of the Match in my very first match, it's a dream come true," added Bishnoi, who represents Rajasthan in the domestic circuit.
Bishnoi, who bowled six wides in his four overs, said he will try to work on his bowling and cut down on the extras. "I'll try to cut down the wides next match. My strength is my length."
He brushed off the fact that dew was the reason for the wides he conceded. "There wasn't much dew in our innings. I haven't played a match with a lot of dew so far, but it does affect you. We practice for it though."
Bishnoi's performance really caught the eyes of skipper Sharma, who earmarked him as a bowler for the future. India are looking to settle their side for this year's T20 World Cup in Australia and Bishnoi presents them with a good candidate in the middle overs.
Sharma was quite impressed with Bishnoi's efforts and believes 'he 21-year-old's versatility makes him a bowler for the future in white-ball cricket for India.
"Bishnoi is a very talented guy which is why we drafted him into the squad straight away," Sharma said after the win.
"We see something different in him. He's got a lot of variations and skill-sets with him. He can bowl at any stage and it gives us a lot of options to rotate the other bowlers. I am very happy with his first game for India and he's got a bright future and it's just about us now on how we use him," said the India skipper.
India restricted West Indies to 157 for seven and then overhauled the target with seven balls to spare, scoring 162 for 4 in 18.5 overs.
Skipper Rohit Sharma gave India a flying start with a 19-ball 40, while Ishan Kishan made 35 off 42.
Suryakumar Yadav (34 not out) and Ventakesh Iyer (24 not out) eventually took the team home.
Roston Chase (2/14) accounted for two wickets, while Sheldon Cottrell (1/35), Fabian Allen (1/10) picked up one wicket each.
Earlier, Nicholas Pooran, who had fetched a staggering 10.75 crore deal in the IPL mega auction, returned to form with a 43-ball 61 to anchor the innings.
Ravi Bishnoi had a dream debut taking two for 17 in his four overs. Harshal Patel (2/37) also snapped two wickets.
Brief Scores:
West Indies: 157 for 7 in 20 overs (Nicholas Pooran 61; Ravi Bishnoi 2/17, Harshal Patel 2/37)
India: 162 for 4 in 18.5 overs (Rohit Sharma 40, Ishan Kishan 35, Suryakumar Yadav 34 not out; Roston Chase 2/14).
The left-hander, who clinched a fat paycheck of Rs 10.75 crore from Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL mega auction, got back to rhythm in style, scoring his runs in 43 balls with five sixes and four boundaries.
The Windies No. 3, who endured an abysmal last IPL with 85 runs at a poor average of 7.72 and had scores of 18, 9 and 34 in the preceding three ODIs, made his intention clear by smashing Bhuvneshwar Kumar for a big six early on.
The Indian spin duo of Yuzvendra Chahal and debutant legs-pinner Ravi Bishnoi derailed the Windies in the middle overs by taking three wickets in between them, but Pooran held on as the visitors unleashed their fury in the death by scoring 61 runs in the the last five overs.
A fit-again Kieron Pollard, who missed the last two matches in the ODI series, played a cameo (24 not out from 19 balls) with two fours and one six.
Jodhpur's googly man Bishnoi made his debut memorable as he returned tidy figures of 4-0-17-2, including the wickets of Roston Chase (4) and Rovman Powell (2) in a space of four balls to derail the Windies in the middle overs.
Bhuvneshwar got his swing going up front and dismissed Brandon King (4) in the first over after the batter had failed to negotiate the outswingers.
Kyle Mayers and Pooran steadied the innings before the wicketkeeper broke the shackles with a big six against Bhuvneshwar.
Mayers also stepped it up against the likes of Chahar and Harshal Patel as the Windies enjoyed a decent powerplay, reaching 44/1 in six overs.
Rohit was quick to bring in his most experienced spinner in the lineup, Chahal, immediately after the powerplay and almost had the dangerous-looking Pooran first ball.
But the debutant Bishnoi made an error of judgment while going for the catch, stepping on the rope to give Pooran a reprieve on 8.
Chahal, however, got the much-needed breakthrough when he trapped the well-set Mayers, who reviewed the decision but to no avail.
Then the debutant from Jodhpur had the Windies caught in his spin web, before Pooran an Pollard propped them up.
Kohli managed only 26 runs over three ODIs against the West Indies earlier this month.
When asked how the captain and head coach Rahul Dravid are going to deal with Kohli's inconsistent form, Rohit said, "I think it all starts with you guys (the media). He is in a great mental space from what I see.
"He knows how to handle pressure. If you guys can keep quiet for a while, I am sure he will be fine," Rohit said on the eve of the T20I series against the West Indies.
It will be interesting to see how Kohli approaches his T20I innings against the West Indies, considering he will play as non-captain for the first time in the format in over four years.
India face West Indies in a three-match T20I series, starting Wednesday. India whitewashed the West Indies 3-0 in the ODI series last week and will look to stamp their authority in the T20I series.
On Monday, the BCCI announced that Washington Sundar has been ruled out of the T20I series due to a left hamstring muscle strain. Kuldeep Yadav will replace him in the squad.
Chasing 266, West Indies were never in the hunt and were bowled out for 169 in 37.1 overs despite some fireworks from Odean Smith and Alzarri Joseph and Hayden Walsh showing some resistance. It is also the first time that India blanked West Indies in an ODI series.
Chahar tested the opening pair of Brandon King and Shai Hope with some movement available from the pitch. He was almost successful when King top-edged the third ball of the innings but it fell between mid-on and mid-off fielders. King survived a DRS call off Chahar and ended the over with successive boundaries.
Mohammed Siraj was the first bowler to strike, trapping Hope with a sharp nip-backer to hit him flush on the back pad. Hope didn't take the review as replays later showed the ball was missing the stumps. In the next over, Chahar returned to take out King and Shamarh Brooks in the space of four balls. While King nicked an outswinger to first slip, Brooks sliced the ball straight to point, departing without troubling the scorers.
Darren Bravo and Nicholas Pooran amassed some boundaries but Prasidh Krishna broke the 43-run stand for the fourth wicket in the 14th over. Bravo played an expansive drive away from the body and edged to second slip. The extra bounce in the pitch helped Krishna in taking out Jason Holder as the ball hit the shoulder of the bat while defending and the edge flew to slip fielder.
Two balls later, Fabian Allen fell for a golden duck, enticed in driving forward by a returning Kuldeep Yadav. But the googly took the edge behind to Rishabh Pant. Allen took the review but replays showed a spike on UltraEdge.
Yadav returned in his next over to take out captain Nicholas Pooran, who went hard on the drive and edged to slip fielder. But Odean Smith gave a stunning exhibition of his clean ball-striking, taking Yadav for fours down the ground and through extra-cover. It was followed by back-to-back sixes over both sides of 'v'.
Smith had luck on his side as Suryakumar Yadav dropped an absolute sitter at mid-off off Siraj. After hitting Yadav for another six over long-on, Smith had a streaky boundary off an outer edge off Siraj. Two balls later, Siraj ended Smith's short-lived blitzkrieg as the right-handed batter mistimed to cover.
Joseph and Walsh frustrated India with a 47-run stand for the ninth wicket. Siraj broke the stand with a short ball directed towards Walsh, and the left-handed batter gave a simple catch to the leg gully. Krishna finished off the match as Joseph pulled and the top-edge flew to deep mid-wicket.
Earlier, on a pitch that was used in the second ODI on Wednesday, West Indies kept the Indian batters on a tight leash in the first ten overs before Iyer and Pant fought back with a stand of 110. For the visitors, Jason Holder finished with figures of 4/34 in his eight overs.
The start was excellent for West Indies as Joseph's twin strikes put them in early control of the match. Captain Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli departed in a span of three balls in the fourth over. While Sharma chopped on to flatten his middle-stump, Kohli was strangled down leg for a two-ball duck.
Shikhar Dhawan struggled to get off the mark till he lofted Kemar Roach over deep extra cover for a six in the seventh over. Dhawan's scratchy stay at the crease came to an end as he cut the short ball from Smith. But the extra bounce on the ball took the top edge straight to Holder at slip.
Pant and Iyer joined forces to forge an important partnership to steer India out of trouble from 42/3. Iyer was fantastic in playing a cheeky uppercut followed by a straight drive off Smith in the 16th over. Pant, on the other hand, started off watchfully and then the boundaries began to flow off his bat. Once the partnership for the fourth wicket crossed the half-century mark, boundaries began to flow consistently from the bats of both Pant and Iyer.
Iyer was the first to reach fifty off Walsh in 74 balls. Two overs later, Pant reached his fifty-off Allen in just 47 balls. Neither of the duo took any unnecessary risk, barring the huge mix-up in the start, as the run rate began to increase. The partnership of 110 off 124 balls for the fourth wicket was broken by Walsh as Pant tried to cut close to his body but the ball bounced a little and took a faint toe-edge to Hope.
Iyer continued to march forward despite losing Suryakumar to a sharp catch at point while trying to take on Allen. Five overs later, in a bid to go big against Walsh, Iye' went for the loft but didn't get to pitch of the ball and picked out long-off, departing for 80.
Chahar displayed his hitting prowess while using his feet to give India a late flourish alongside Sundar. Chahar took Walsh to the cleaners in the 44th over, slamming fours down the ground and over backward point followed by tonking a six over wide long-on. Though Chahar was undone by a slower bouncer from Holder in the 46th over, he had done his job for giving India some momentum in the fag end of the innings.
Holder took out Yadav before Sundar played some exquisite shots off him and Joseph. Eventually, Holder forced Sundar to give a simple catch to extra cover in the final over before taking out Siraj on the last ball of the innings for his fourth scalp. But the poor batting performance throughout the series hitting a hat-trick meant West Indies were never in sight of avoiding a clean sweep.
Brief scores: India 265 all out in 50 overs (Shreyas Iyer 80, Rishabh Pant 56; Jason Holder 4/34, Alzarri Joseph 2/54) beat West Indies 169 all out in 37.1 overs (Odean Smith 36, Nicholas Pooran 34; Prasidh Krishna 3/27, Mohammed Siraj 3/29) by 96 runs.
The three ODIs will now be played at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad and three T20Is will be held at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata.
The decision to limit the series to two venues instead of six as originally announced has been done to mitigate bio-security risks by cutting down on travel and movement of the teams, match officials, broadcasters, and other stakeholders.
Revised schedule:
1st ODI: February 6, Ahmedabad
2nd ODI: February 9, Ahmedabad
3rd ODI: February 11, Ahmedabad
1st T20I: February 16, Kolkata
2nd T20I: February 18, Kolkata
3rd T20I: February 20, Kolkata
The upcoming T20 match between India and West Indies will be played at Barabati stadium on February 15, 2022, informed the secretary of the Odisha Cricket Association (OCA), Sanjay Behera.
It is after a gap of almost three years that the solitary cricket stadium in Odisha will be hosting any international cricket match. The last one-day international (ODI) was played at Barabati in 2019.
Odisha Cricket Association (OCA) officials said that Barabati stadium was picked as a venue to host the T20 match during the apex council meeting of the BCCI held in Dubai today.
Senior OCA officials had earlier requested BCCI president, Saurav Ganguly to allow matches to be played at Barabati which has not hosted any international match since a long time.
The BCCI has asked OCA to make the necessary preparations for the T20 match. OCA officials said already the process to prepare a new pitch and outfield is underway at Barabati stadium.
Similarly all requisite infrastructure required to host the international match at the stadium will be augmented accordingly.
On being asked whether spectators will be allowed inside the stadium or the T20 match will be held with some restrictions in view of Covid, OCA officials said, “Whatever directions related to Covid-19 pandemic situation are issued will be duly followed.”
India have won the test series 2-0 and ODIs 3-1 in an utterly lopsided fashion. On Sunday at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata, the current World T20I champions were restricted to a paltry 109/8 by Rohit Sharma and Company.
Windies bowlers did well to reduce India to 54/4 at the halfway stage before seasoned stumper Dinesh Karthik (31 not out; 34 b, 3x4, 1x6) and debutant Krunal Pandya (21 not out; 9b, 3x4) got the home side over the line.
India's last win against the West Indies before Sunday came was way back on March 23, 2014 in the World T20 in Bangladesh.
The win for India came despite the absence of talismanic regular captain Virat Kohli.
Rohit, who has an enviable record at the Eden, failed on Sunday and would look to make up for it with a big score on Tuesday.
Besides Rohit, opener Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant and Manish Pandey also had a bad day in office in the series-opener.
Karthik kept his cool and played a crucial knock along with an unbeaten cameo from Krunal to steer India home in 17.5 overs.
Lucknow will be hosting its first international match at the newly-built Ekana stadium.
Chinaman bowler Kuldeep Yadav was at his lethal best on Sunday with superb figures of 3/13 from his four overs, while left-arm pacer Khaleel Ahmed (1/16) and Pandya (1/15) were also impressive.
India will also be bolstered by the return of pace spearhead Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who missed the first T20 due to gastric problems.
West Indies, on the other hand, would be desperate to get back to the winning ways. The shortest format is where they do well on a regular basis with their players plying their trade in T20 leagues around the globe as well as the Caribbean Premier League.
The return of big names such as Kieran Pollard and Darren Bravo failed to make any significant impact on Sunday.
Andre Russell's injury, which ruled him out of the series, also dented their chances.
Young pacer Oshane Thomas (2/21), who made his debut in Kolkata, impressed a lot and heckled the Indian openers with his pace.
Squads:
India - Rohit Sharma (Captain), Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Dinesh Karthik, Manish Pandey, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (Wicket-keeper), Krunal Pandya, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, K Khaleel Ahmed, Umesh Yadav, Shahbaz Nadeem.
West Indies - Carlos Brathwaite (Captain), Darren Bravo, Shimron Hetmyer, Shai Hope (Wicket-keeeper) Obed McCoy, Keemo Paul, Khary Pierre, Kieron Pollard, Nicholas Pooran, Rovman Powell, Denesh Ramdin, Sherfane Rutherford, Oshane Thomas
Dhoni has been left out of India's T20 squad for the home series against West Indies and, more significantly, India's tour of Australia.
Although according to regular skipper Virat Kohli, who has also opted out of the series, Dhoni remains an integral part of India's plans, it is widely believed that the 37-year old is being phased out owing to his poor run since the turn of the year.
Besides leading India to their maiden and only T20 World Cup triumph in 2007, Dhoni is also the most capped player in the shortest format, featuring in 93 of India's 104 matches.
In 2018, Dhoni, who has also captained India to 50-over World Cup glory in 2011, managed only 245 runs at 27.22 in 17 matches.
The emergence of young wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant has added to the problem with the 21-year old claiming a place in the side in all the three formats.
Coming to the T20 games, India will start as favourites after cantering to a 3-1 ODI series win and two test victories prior to that.
The Windies are a different team when it comes to T20s, with the likes of Keiron Pollard, Andre Russell, skipper Carlos Brathwaite, Dareen Bravo and latest sensation Shimron Hetmyer in their ranks.
It is a different matter that the current world champions have not had a great year even in this format. The Windies have won only twice -- the victory against ICC World XI included -- in 2018, losing two games to Bangladesh in their last couple of encounters.
In Tests, they were no match to India with the rubbers ending in three days, and while there was some hope in the ODIs, the tourists crumbled sensationally in the last two matches after posting an impressive win in the third game.
The Indian team has been on a roll at home for quite some time and against a weakened Windies have looked invincible for most parts of the series.
Keeping in mind the World T20 in 2020, India have picked three uncapped players (Krunal Pandya, S Nadeem and Khaleel Ahmed) for this and the Australia series, aside from bringing back the likes of Shreyas Iyer and Washington Sundar to the squad.
The hosts would want skipper Rohit to lead from the front and continue his purple patch with the bat. The seasoned Mumbai batsman was the second highest scorer behind Kohli, scoring 389 runs at 129.66, that included two hundreds.
Besides, Eden is also a happy hunting ground for Rohit. The 31-year old has a world record score of 264 in ODIs here in 2014, a Test ton (177) and two IPL titles won on this ground. The classy opener also made his first-class debut at Eden and got his first IPL ton here.
The three matches will also give another opportunity to young pacer Khaleel Ahmed who drew a lot of praise from skipper Kohli and coach Ravi Shastri during the ODIs.
The tourists will depend on their famed T20 specialists who play in different leagues across the globe to come good.
While Darren Bravo is set to play for West Indies for the first time in two years, dashing all-rounder Pollard will don the national jersey for the first time in a year.
Hetmyer, 21, is also in superb form scoring 259 runs in the ODI series including the counter-attacking 106 in Guwahati.
Captain Brathwaite, who famously clubbed four consecutive sixes off Ben Stokes to win the World Cup here two years ago, will also be counted on as a match winner for the side missing the services of talisman Chris Gayle who declined selection. Mystery spinner Sunil Narine is also absent.
The Windies will also miss offie Ashley Nurse who picked up an injury during the ODIs and has been ruled out. The Eden track promises a run feast with a bit of grass on the surface affording even bounce and the ball expected to come on to the bat nicely.
West Indies lead India 5-2 in the eight matches they have played so far.
Squads:
India: Rohit Sharma (c), Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Dinesh Karthik, Manish Pandey, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (wk), Krunal Pandya, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Bumrah, Khaleel Ahmed, Umesh Yadav, Shahbaz Nadeem.
West Indies: Carlos Brathwaite (c), Fabian Allen, Darren Bravo, Shimron Hetmyer, Obed McCoy, Keemo Paul, Khary Pierre, Kieron Pollard, Rovman Powell, Denesh Ramdin (wk), Andre Russell, Sherfane Rutherford, Oshane Thomas
To mark the occasion, Dravid received his commemorative cap from fellow ICC Cricket Hall of Famer Sunil Gavaskar before the start of the fifth and final ODI between India and the West Indies in Thiruvananthapuram, according to a statement.
Dravid was named in the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame along with Australia legend Ricky Ponting and England women's stalwart Claire Taylor during the ICC Annual Conference in Dublin in July.
However, Dravid was unable to attend the induction ceremony due to a coaching assignment with the India ‘A' side.
Dravid, after receiving the cap, said: "I am honoured and delighted to have been formally inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame in front of my home fans. This award gives me the satisfaction that I have been able to contribute to the success of the India cricket team in particular, and cricket in general.
"I am grateful to all my contemporaries, who helped and supported me during my playing days, as well as coaches and officials who guided me on the long journey. I have enjoyed each and every moment of my association with them, as together we not only set big targets but achieved most of them."
Dravid is the fifth India cricketer to be formally inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame after Bishen Singh Bedi, Kapil Dev, Sunil Gavaskar and Anil Kumble.
Dravid played 164 Tests and 344 ODIs for India from 1996 to 2012, and scored a total of 24,177 runs in the two formats.
India had won the first and fourth matches. The second match ended in an exciting draw while the visitors outplayed India in the third ODI to claim their first and only victory of the tour.
India played brilliantly in this match as both bowlers and batsmen did their job.
First the bowlers restricted the visitors to a paltry 104 then the top-order batsmen played handsomely to wrap up the issue in just 15 overs.
Chasing 105, India lost Shikhar Dhawan (6) in the second over. Pacer Oshane Thomas clean bowled the Delhi batsman with just six runs on the board.
Unperturbed by the fall of Dhawan's wicket, Rohit Sharma (63 not out) and skipper Virat Kohli (33 not out) played sensibly and guided India to a comfortable victory. Rohit also completed his 37th half-century.
Rohit slammed five boundaries and four sixes in his 56-ball innings while Kohli played 29 balls and hammered six boundaries.
Earlier, a brilliant bowling effort saw India bundle out West Indies for 104.
The Indian bowlers were on the mark right from the start. Some good line and maximum use of the conditions at the Greenfield International Stadium combined with some poor judgement by the West Indies batsmen helped the hosts create havoc in the visitors batting line-up.
Apart from skipper Jason Holder (25) and experienced all-rounder Marlon Samuels (24) no other West Indies batsmen applied themselves and went back cheaply.
For India, Ravindra Jadeja picked up four wickets while Jasprit Bumrah and Khaleel Ahmed took two wickets each. Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Kuldeep Yadav scalped one wicket each.
Opting to bat, the visitors suffered their first setback in the opening over when Bhuvneshwar Kumar produced a fine outswinger to claim his 99th ODI wicket in the form of Kieron Powell (0).
Jasprit Bumrah struck in the very next over when Shai Hope (16) misread the line of a delivery which came in sharply after pitching.
With the scoreboard reading 2/2, all eyes were on Samuels and the in form Shimron Hetmyer (9). But after adding 34 runs for the third wicket, Samuels, who was looking good at the crease, was caught by skipper Virat Kohli off Jadeja in the 12th over.
After three overs, Jadeja then picked up Hetmyer. The West Indian was adjudged leg before wicket when the scoreboard was reading 53.
Holder then arrived at the crease and played sensibly with Rovman Powell (16), who was also playing cautiously from the beginning.
Just when things seemed good in the middle, Powell was dismissed by pacer Khaleel Ahmed.
With five top players back in the pavilion, lower-order players -- Fabian Allen (4) Keemo Paul (5), Kemar Roach (5) and Oshane Thomas (0)-- failed and went back one after another.
Holder also went in the 26th over and West Indies got bundled out for 104 in just 32 overs.
Brief scores:
West Indies: 104 (Jason Holder 25, Marlon Samuels 24; Ravindra Jadeja 4/34) vs India: 105/1 (Rohit Sharma 63 not out, Virat Kohli 33 not out; Oshane Thomas 1/33).
After the resounding victory in the fourth One-day International (ODI) at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai, the Virat Kohli-led hosts lead the series 2-1, with the second match being tied.
The last time the Carribean side won a bilateral series against India was way back in 2006.
With the northeastern monsoon in full cry, the match could well end up shortened as the the weatherman has predicted a brief thunderstorm in the afternoon and late evening.
This is only the second international cricket match to be staged at the Greenfield Stadium. The first was on November 7 last year when the hosts defeated New Zealand in a T20 match that was shortened to inclement weather and saw just saw an eight over per side match. India won by six runs.
The organisers, the Kerala Cricket Association, are in an upbeat mood as the ground boasts of one of the best drainage systems in the business and even if the rain comes crashing down, they will be able to get it back into shape quickly once the rain stops.
Going into the final ODI, with opener Rohit Sharma, Ambati Rayudu and skipper Kohli in top form, India will like to keep the momentum into the series decider. Rayudu also took a step ahead in cementing his place at No. 4 slot with a fine century in the previous game.
Rohit also smashed an impressive 162 off 137 balls in the fourth ODI while the skipper has three tons from four games. The Indian batting will once again mostly rely on the shoulders of these two on Thursday.
Despite impressive performances by the top order, the cause of concern for the team management will be the flop show of stumper Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
The former skipper has failed to live up to the expectations, which also resulted in his exclusion from the Twenty20 international (T20I) series against the Windies and Australia.
It will be the litmus test for Dhoni, who has been under fire for his continous poor performances.
In the bowling department, chinaman Kuldeep Yadav has been impressive in this series so far after scalping eight wickets from three games and Kohli will like him to replicate his past, specially in the middle overs.
Pacer Jasprit Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar are expected to dismantle the Windies top order in the initial overs, while Khaleel Ahmad, who was a surprise package in Mumbai with figures of 3/13, could be a crucial support for his seniors.
Coming to the West Indies squad, batsmen Shimron Hetmyer and Shai Hope are the only two batsmen who have shown some fight against the home side.
They both have hit a century each and would like to repeat it for one final time to help their side tie the series.
Captain Jason Holder has shown he can be fruitful with the bat down the order.
However, the visitors could possibly miss the services of off-spinner Ashley Nurse, who has been a consistent performer with five wickets from the series.
Nurse is doubtful for the series decider after suffering an injury during the last game. His absence could affect the hopes of the visitors in a crucial contest.
Squads:
India - Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli (Captain), Ambati Rayudu, MS Dhoni(Wicket-keeper), Kedar Jadhav, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav, K Khaleel Ahmed, Jasprit Bumrah, Lokesh Rahul, Yuzvendra Chahal, Rishabh Pant, Umesh Yadav, Manish Pandey.
West Indies - Chandrapaul Hemraj, Kieran Powell, Shai Hope (Wicket-keeper), Marlon Samuels, Shimron Hetmyer, Rovman Powell, Jason Holder (Captain), Fabian Allen, Ashley Nurse, Keemo Paul, Kemar Roach, Sunil Ambris, Devendra Bishoo, Obed McCoy, Oshane Thomas.
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.
Earlier, the tourists rode stumper Shai Hope's 113-ball 95 and a valuable 22-ball 40 from Nurse, lower down the order to put 283/9 at the end of their 50 overs. For India, pacer Jasprit Bumrah scalped four wickets in his comeback match.
Brief Scores: West Indies 283/9 (Shai Hope 95, Ashley Nurse 40, Shimron Hetmyer 37; Jasprit Bumrah 4/35) beat India 240 (Virat Kohli 107, Shikhar Dhawan 35; Marlon Samuels 3/12, Obed McCoy 2/38) by 43 runs.
Both teams have made one change each from the last match. India have brought in left-arm spinner Kuldeep Yadav in place of rookie pacer Khalil Ahmed.
The visitors have replaced Oshane Thomas with debutant Obed McCoy.
India lead the five-match series 1-0 after winning the opening match by eight wickets.
Teams:
India: Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli(c), Ambati Rayudu, Mahendra Singh Dhoni(w), Rishabh Pant, Ravindra Jadeja, Umesh Yadav, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Yuzvendra Chahal.
West Indies: Kieran Powell, Chandrapaul Hemraj, Shai Hope (w), Marlon Samuels, Shimron Hetmyer, Rovman Powell, Jason Holder (c), Ashley Nurse, Devendra Bishoo, Kemar Roach, Obed McCoy.
At close of play, both Pant (85 not out) and Rahane (75 not out) closed in on their respective centuries even as the West Indian bowlers failed to keep the momentum of the second session, where they managed to take three key wickets of Prithvi Shaw (70), Cheteshwar Pujara (10) and skipper Virat Kohli (45).
Resuming the final session at 173/4, Rahane and Pant mixed caution with calculative aggression to steady the ship after the hoax middle-session scare.
The right-left duo managed to see off the initial period before Pant broke the shackles with a few lusty blows to nearly outscore Rahane, en-route his second Test fifty.
Pant, the wicketkeeper-batsman was specially harsh on left-arm spinner Jomel Warrican, whom he clobbered for two consecutive sixes.
Rahane also brought up his 15th half century with a poke outside off in the same over from leg-spinner Devendra Bishoo.
Earlier, after pacer Umesh Yadav ran through the West Indian lower order, to return figures of 6/88 in the first hour of play, teenaged opener Shaw gave India a flying start in the company of an off-colour Lokesh Rahul (4), with the first wicket stand yielding 61 runs.
With the hosts comfortably placed at 80/1 by lunch, Shaw departed after forging a 37-run second wicket stand with Pujara before the latter departed seven balls later.
Shaw, whose attractive 53-ball knock was laced with 11 boundaries and a six, succumbed to an easy catch to Shimron Hetmyer at extra cover off Warrican.
With the addition of just four runs to India's score, pacer Shannon Gabriel dealt the hosts another blow with the dismissal of Cheteshwar Pujara.
Thereafter, Kohli and Rahane stabilised the innings with a valuable 60-run third wicket stand before the India captain was trapped in front by his opposite number Jason Holder, who bowled an extended spell before heading to the tea interval.
Brief Scores: West Indies 311 (Roston Chase 106, Jason Holder 52, Shai Hope 36; Umesh Yadav 6/88, Kuldeep Yadav 3/85) vs India 173/4 (Rishabh Pant 85 not out, Ajinkya Rahane 75 not out, Prithvi Shaw 70; Jason Holder 2/45).
Chase (98 not out) and tail-ender Devendra Bishoo (2 not out) were at the crease when the umpires dislodged the bails for the day.
Resuming the final session at 197/6, Chase and Holder (52) stretched their seventh wicket partnership further to 104 runs before the skipper finally fell to pacer Umesh Yadav, caught behind by stumper Rishabh Pant.
Earlier, West Indies wasted a steady start to slip to 86/3 at lunch. Shimron Hetmyer (10 not out) went back undefeated after pacer Umesh Yadav removed Shai Hope (32) just at the stroke of lunch, thus ending the flourishing 34-run third wicket stand.
Electing to bat after winning the toss, the tourists made amends for their lacklustre batting effort in the first Test at Rajkot, with openers Kraigg Brathwaite (14) and Kieran Powell (22) showing a lot of promise in their brief 32-run partnership.
India were handicapped early in the innings with debutant pacer Shardul Thakur injuring his groin midway into his second over and walking off before off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin completed the over.
Forced to deal with spin as early as the fourth over of the innings, the Windies openers played cautiously before Powell in an attempt to cut loose, ended up mistiming a chip shot to Ravindra Jadeja at cover.
Sensing Windies' vulnerability against quality spin, India skipper Virat Kohli brought Kuldeep Yadav into the attack, and the chinaman responded in his very fifth over by trapping Brathwaite plumb in front.
The fall of Brathwaite brought together Hope and Hetmyer, who started rebuilding the innings with grit before once again running out of patience as they approached the lunch break.
Brought back for another short spell, moments before the break, Umesh managed to break the stand with the wicket of Hope, who survived once against the same bowler, but wasn't lucky for the second time as the visitors lost both their reviews.
Brief Scores: West Indies 295/7 (Roston Chase 98 not out, Jason Holder 52, Shah Hope 36; Kuldeep Yadav 3/74, Umesh Yadav 3/83) vs India.
The visiting side failed to put up a show against the No.1 Test side as India dominated the entire contest and registered their biggest innings win at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium.
After putting a massive 649/9 on the board, India rode on its disciplined bowling attack to skittle out West Indies for the second time within two days.
The visiting batsmen had no answer to the Indian bowling as they succumbed and fell for 181 and 196 runs in their first and second innings respectively.
Resuming their first innings at 94/6 on Saturday, West Indies were all out after an hour and 10 minutes in the morning session.
Roston Chase (53) and Keemo Paul (47) stitched together a 73-run stand. Off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin ran through the tail, ending with 4/37 in 11 overs.
Ashwin first removed Chase with a beauty, a flighted ball that turned in to create a big gap between bat and pad before crashing into the stumps.
Number 10 and 11 were easy meat for Aswhin, who sent them back with the away turning ball.
Asked to follow-on, the visitors lost skipper Kraigg Brathwaite (10) as Ashwin struck again as West Indies' scorecard read 32/1.
Later, chinaman Kuldeep Yadav ran through the West Indian middle order as he scalped five wickets to leave the visitors at 151/6.
It was also Kuldeep's maiden five-wicket haul in Test as he returned with career best figures of 5/57.
Other than opener Kieran Powell, who showed some resistence with his knock 83 runs, no visiting batsman showed a fight and fell cheaply. After his fall, Ravindra Jadeja and Ashwin struck each to pack back Keemo Paul (15) and Devendra Bishoo (9) as West Indies were 185/8 when lunch was taken.
In the third and final session, Jadeja dismissed Shannon Gabriel (4) and Sherman Lewis (4) as India registered a comfortable victory.
Earlier, India rode on debutant opener Prithvi Shaw's 134, skipper Virat Kohli's 139 and Jadeja's unbeaten 100 to put a huge 649/9 on board.
The second and final Test of the series will be held from October 12 in Hyderabad.
Brief Scores: India 1st Innings 649 for 9 in 149.5 overs (Virat Kohli 139, Prithvi Shaw 134, Ravindra Jadeja 100; Devendra Bishoo 4/217) beat West Indies 181 all out (Roston Chase 53, Keemo Paul 47; Ravichandran Ashwin 4/37, Mohammed Shami 2/22) & 196 all out (Kieran Powell 83; Kuldeep Yadav 5/57).
BCCI's chairman of selectors MSK Prasad announced that Dhoni isn't part of both the T20I squads, with rookie keeper-bat Rishabh Pant set to don the big gloves.
In an exclusive conversation with OTV, ace cricketer Dilip Vengsarkar spoke on what he feels on Dhoni’s ouster from the team for the Windies & Australia T20Is.
I guess Dhoni wants to play only one format of the game, because next big tournament is World Cup, that’s what I feel. And you have to look ahead as well. Rishabh Pant is a young guy, very talented, & he did very well in the IPL as well. I think India is looking for a T20 guy who would play for India for a long time. And Pant fills that place.
Dhoni, of course, has been an outstanding cricketer and his service to Indian cricket has been huge. I would say I think he wants to play World Cup now, Vengsarkar reiterated.
Assuring that the doors aren't totally closed for Dhoni's return to the shortest format, MSK Prasad had earlier said, "Dhoni is not going to play the 6 T20Is because we're looking at the second keeper slot. It is not the end of Dhoni in T20Is.”
In the short video, Kohli is seen lifting heavy weights and the skipper captioned it saying: "No days off. Nothing can be done without hardwork."
Kohli, known to be one of the fittest cricketers in modern day cricket, has been credited with bringing in a change in the approach and attitude of the Indian players when it comes to maintaining top-level fitness. While he was alone in this video, he often shares pictures and videos with teammates from the gym sessions.
In their five matches so far, the Men in Blue have won four with the game against New Zealand being washed out. Placed third on the points table, India will now take on the eighth placed West Indies in Manchester on Thursday before locking horns against tournament favourites and hosts England, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka on June 30, July 2 and July 6 respectively.
"For the upcoming match between India and West Indies, if I had to choose between Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mohammed Shami, I would definitely pick Bhuvneshwar Kumar," Tendulkar told Star Sports.
"It's great news for India that Bhuvneshwar Kumar is fit. I have seen his body language which showed that he is really confident," said the Master Blaster.
Bhuvneshwar had picked up an injury against Pakistan and missed the game against Afghanistan, which India won by 11 runs on June 22.
Shami was drafted in the team in place of Bhuvneshwar and the pacer returned with a hattrick in the 50th over, becoming just the second Indian, after pacer Chetan Sharma, to achieve the feat in a World Cup match, also helping the team cross the line in a tense finish.
"The only reason being, Bhuvneshwar can bowl to Chris Gayle at the outer angle and that is what makes Chris Gayle uncomfortable. I still remember how uncomfortable Chris Gayle was when Bhuvneshwar Kumar was bowling at him in the last Test I played," he added.
"I know it will be a little unfortunate for Mohammed Shami but I believe for this game, Bhuvneshwar Kumar should be picked," Tendulkar signed off.
Still unbeaten in the showpiece event, India will take on the Windies, who haven't fared so well so far, at the Old Trafford, Manchester on June 27.
Kohli currently has 19, 963 runs to his name and is just 37 runs short of the record that legendary Indian batsman Sachin Tendulkar holds along with West Indies great Brian Lara.
If Kohli manages to score 37 runs against Windies, he will reach the 20,000-international run milestone in 416 innings (131 in Tests, 223 in ODIs and 62 in T20Is). Tendulkar and Lara, both had reached the milestone in 453 innings, followed by former Australian skipper Ricky Ponting who scored 20,000 runs in 468 innings.
He will become the 12th batsman to this landmark and the third Indian after Tendulkar (34,357 runs) and Rahul Dravid (24,208 runs). The 30-year-old run-machine has been in great form in the ongoing tournament. After getting out cheaply against South Africa in the World Cup opener, Kohli scored 82 runs against Australia, 77 against Pakistan and 67 against Afghanistan.
Interestingly, during the innings against Pakistan at Old Trafford on June 16, Kohli also became the fastest batsman to score 11,000 ODI runs.
India have gone with the same team which played against Afghanistan. Meanwhile, West Indies have made two changes in their line-up. They have brought in Sunil Ambris and Fabian Allen in place of Evin Lewis and Ashley Nurse.
"We are gonna bat first. Looks like a hard surface. It's a used pitch expect it will slow down. I think closing out situations and capitalising will be the key. We have the same team," said Kohli after winning the toss.
"We wanted to bat too well. Hopefully we get early wickets. We have got two changes. Sunil Ambris comes in for Lewis and Fabian Allen comes in for Nurse. Evin's struggling for the last couple of days. We are getting closer. Today's another opportunity," said Windies captain Jason Holder.
Playing XI: India: Lokesh Rahul, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli(c), Vijay Shankar, MS Dhoni(w), Kedar Jadhav, Hardik Pandya, Mohammed Shami, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah
West Indies: Chris Gayle, Sunil Ambris, Shai Hope(w), Nicholas Pooran, Shimron Hetmyer, Jason Holder(c), Carlos Brathwaite, Fabian Allen, Kemar Roach, Sheldon Cottrell, Oshane Thomas.
Kohli had started the game on 19, 963 runs to his name and was just 37 runs short of the record that legendary Indian batsman Sachin Tendulkar held along with West Indies great Brian Lara.
The India skipper reached the 20,000-international run milestone in 416 innings (131 in Tests, 223 in ODIs and 62 in T20Is). Tendulkar and Lara, both had reached the milestone in 453 innings, followed by former Australian skipper Ricky Ponting who scored 20,000 runs in 468 innings.
He became the 12th batsman to this landmark and the third Indian after Tendulkar (34,357 runs) and Rahul Dravid (24,208 runs). The 30-year-old run-machine has been in great form in the ongoing tournament. After getting out cheaply against South Africa in the World Cup opener, Kohli scored 82 runs against Australia, 77 against Pakistan and 67 against Afghanistan.
Interestingly, during the innings against Pakistan at Old Trafford on June 16, Kohli also became the fastest batsman to score 11,000 ODI runs.
Before the World Cup, Kohli was not at his usual best in the Indian Premier League. While he did score 328 runs in the 14 matches for the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), it was not the kind of performance which one associates with India's 'run machine'.
However, in the World Cup, Kohli is looking a lot more comfortable, be it while facing the quicks or the spinners. If one does an analysis of his performance in the four innings he has played so far, ahead of the Windies knock, one will find that the batsman has concentrated on playing in the 'V' and has resisted from playing cross batted shots.
This approach can be seen as an attempt to tackle the swing on offer in English conditions to the pacers and also to adjust with the variable bounce which has been seen on many wickets on which India have played.
Skipper Virat Kohli and Mahendra Singh Dhoni slammed contrasting half-centuries while Hardik Pandya smashed a quickfire 46 to help India post 268/7 in 50 overs in their World Cup group stage encounter against the West Indies here on Thursday.
Kohli slammed 72 off 82 deliveries, his innings studded with eight fours, while Dhoni took time till the final over to get his mojo back and remained unbeaten on 56 off 61 balls with the help of three fours and two sixes after India chose to bat first.
Pandya took 38 balls to score 46 (4x5) before holing out to Fabien Allen off Sheldon Cottrell in the 49th over.
In the final over, Dhoni took 16 runs off Oshane Thomas by hitting two sixes -- off the first and last ball -- and a four to put behind his woeful crawl in which he was let go twice by the Windies.
Dhoni was dropped by Thomas off his own bowling on 37 in the 48th over after wicketkeeper Shai Hope messed up an easy stumping opportunity when the former India skipper was batting on eight.
For the Windies, Kemar Roach (3/36) was the pick of the bowlers while Sheldon Cottrell (2/50) and skipper Jason Holder (2/33) chipped in with crucial breakthroughs.
India lost in-form opener Rohit Sharma (18) early, albeit in controversial circumstances, when a Roach delivery pitched on good length and jagged back sharply, kissing what the Windies thought was the inside edge of Rohit's bat.
The onfield umpire turned down the appeal, but Holder decided to review it. The third umpire overturned the onfield umpire's decision and Rohit was adjudged to have nicked the ball as he left a gap between bad and pad, with Roach and the Windies celebrating.
The verdict left Rohit flabbergasted as he walked off shaking his head.
Kohli joined Lokesh Rahul (48; 64b, 4x6) in the middle and the pair stitched together a 69-run stand before the latter once again failed to convert his good start, as Holder castled him all ends up.
Vijay Shankar too could not put to rest the No. 4 slot debate, getting out on 18 after edging Roach to Hope behind the stumps.
Kedar Jadhav was promoted up the order ahead of Dhoni, who drew flak for his slow innings in India'a last game against Afghanistan. But Jadhav, who scored a fifty in the previous outing, did not last long with Roach again having him caught behind for just 7.
Kohli, in the meantime, added another feather to his cap as he became the fastest batsman to score 20,000 international runs when he reached 37.
The ace batsman reached his fourth consecutive 50 off 55 balls but just when he was looking set for a maiden hundred in this World Cup, Kohli pulled a half-tracker to midwicket where substitute Darren Bravo took the catch off Holder's bowling. The Indian captain was livid with himself as his search for a century in this World Cup continued.
Dhoni, at the other end, was in all sorts of trouble, failing to time the ball and rotate the strike, a problem that troubled him during the Afghanistan game too.
Pandya upped the ante a bit with some lusty blows as Dhoni found the fence for the first time after 16 overs to underline his struggle. But Dhoni made up for his poor show in the last over to help India put up a challenging total on the board.
Brief scores: India 268/7 in 50 overs, West Indies 143/10 in 34.2 overs.
"Dhoni knows exactly what he wants to do in the middle. When he has an off day here and there, everyone starts talking. We always back him. He has won us so many games. The best thing about having someone like him is when you need those 15-20 runs, he knows exactly how to get them. His experience, eight out of 10 times has come good for us," Kohli said on Thursday after India's emphatic win over West Indies in the ongoing World Cup.
"We have quite a few players who play instinctive cricket and follow their game plans. He's such a keen understanding of the game. Always sends us feedback, that you know 260 is a good score. He's a legend of the game. We all know that. Just hope he can continue," he added.
Dhoni was criticised by many for his slow batting against Afghanistan where he took 52 balls to score 28 runs which had reduced India's scoring rate in the middle overs and the Men in Blue managed to score just 224 runs in their allotted 50 overs which eventually they were able to defend on the back of some disciplined bowling from Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami.
Legendary Indian batsman Sachin Tendulkar was among the ones who criticised Dhoni, saying that the stumper should have shown more positive intent during his time at the crease against Afghanistan.
Even on Thursday, Dhoni started off slowly and scored just 20 runs of the 40 balls he faced. However, later on, he scored at a brisk pace and finished with unbeaten 56 off 61 balls, thus helping India to post a par 268/7 at the Old Trafford. During the course of his innings, the 37-year-old scored three boundaries and two sixes.
It was the strong bowling line-up of India which once again came with a brilliant performance to bundle out the Windies for 143, thus helping the Men in Blue register a 125-run victory in Manchester.
"Things haven't gone our way with the bat in the last two games, but we have still done well to win, that's being the most pleasing thing," said Kohli while pointing out that the batting department needs to improve.
"Last two games, things haven't gone like we thought they would. These haven't been massive scoring games. But we've found ways of winning. Intensity has been the standout thing for me. Mindset really matters. Nothing is impossible. We feel we can win from any situation," he added.
With the win, India have now 11 points from six games and are placed below Australia who are at the top of the standings.
On Thursday, Shami had copied Cottrell's celebration as the Caribbean lost his wicket trying to take on Yuzvendra Chahal in the 30th over of their innings in the World Cup match which India won by 125 runs.
Skipper Virat Kohli was also spotted doing something in the match that seemed like a reference to the 'Cottrell salute'.
However, Cottrell took the joke in good spirit and took to Twitter saying it was great fun between the two pacers. The left-arm pacer further tweeted in Hindi playing down any controversy around disrespecting the army.
"Great fun! Great bowling. Nakal Karna Hi Sabse Badi Chaploosi Hai," Cottrell tweeted on Friday in response to a question put by one of the media houses that had asked whether the celebrations by Shami was plain fun or blatant disrespect of the Jamaican Army.
Earlier, Cottrell gave Shami his trademark send-off after dismissing the Indian pacer for a duck in the 49th over of the Indian innings.
Cottrell celebrates every dismissal of his with a short march and a salute to the pavilion as a tribute to the Jamaican Armed Forces. He is a soldier in the Jamaican Defence Force.
"It's a military-style salute. I'm a soldier by profession. Me saluting is just to show my respect to the Jamaica Defence Force," he was quoted as saying to the BBC earlier this year.
"I do it every time I get a wicket. I practised it for six months when I was training in the army," he had said.
Players have been taking to their social media handles posting pictures of themselves while practising and enjoying in Florida.
On Friday, skipper Virat Kohli also posted a picture with his teammates on Instagram with a caption "SQUAD".
In the picture, Ravindra Jadeja, Navdeep Saini, Khaleel Ahmed, Shreyas Iyer, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and K.L. Rahul can be seen posing alongside Kohli.
However, vice captain Rohit Sharma is missing from the frame, which has once again given ammunition to people who have been speculating about a rift between Kohli and his deputy.
Various fans commented on the picture asking about the absence of India vice captain.
Earlier before the departure for the West Indies tour, Rohit had also posted a photo on Instagram which said: "I don't just walk out for my Team. I walk out for my country."
Ever since India's exit from the World Cup in the semifinals, there have been rumours about a rift between Kohli and Rohit. However, both Kohli and head coach Ravi Shastri have denied the reports with the India captain terming the rumours "baffling".
Rohit doesn't follow Kohli on Instagram and recently he unfollowed Anushka Sharma -- wife of India skipper too, which added fuel to the rift rumours.
However, Kohli still follows Rohit on the picture sharing website, but not his wife Ritika Sajdeh.
Anushka also doesn't follow Ritika and Rohit on Instagram and same is the case with Ritika who doesn't follow the Indian skipper and his wife.
While the team has done well in the longer format of the game, the same cannot be said of the team's performances in the shorter formats and the last time India won an ICC event was back in 2013 when M.S. Dhoni lifted the Champions Trophy in England.
Failure to have an ICC trophy in the cabinet is one thing, but under Kohli, the team also lost the home series against Australia just before the start of the 2019 edition of the Indian Premier League. And to think the Australian unit was without the services of Steve Smith, David Warner and Mitchell Starc among others.
With the head coach's contract also up for renewal, the performance of the team in West Indies will play a role in deciding if Shastri is handed an extension or the Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) picks a new personnel as the head coach.
Even though the Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators (CoA) have made it clear that there will be no review meeting of the performance of the Men in Blue in the showpiece event, the failure of the batsmen after the top three has been highlighted by all and sundry.
Not just the batsmen, even in the bowling department, the likes of Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal have left a lot to be desired. While the pace bowlers did an extremely good job during the World Cup, the same cannot be said of the spinners.
In fact, that is one of the reason that someone like Rahul Chahar has been called-up for the T20I series as that gives the selectors a chance to try options.
Former India skipper Sunil Gavaskar has been critical of the approach of the national selectors and have called them ‘lame ducks'.
"Speaking of lame ducks, the Indian selection committee appears to be one. This is probably one of the last selections for this committee (for the Windies tour) as a new one will get appointed soon. Hopefully that will have players of stature who will not get bullied and be able to tell the team management that their job is to play with the team chosen by the selectors," he told IANS.
Not one to mince his words, Gavaskar also questioned Kohli's captaincy. "After the reappointment, he (captain) gets invited to the meeting for his views on the selecting the players for the team. By bypassing the procedure, the message that goes out is that while the players like Kedar Jadhav, Dinesh Karthik get dropped after below expectation performance, the captain continues despite much below par expectations where the team did not even reach the finals."
Interestingly, talks are already on in some sections that split captaincy could be an option for the team looking at the 2023 World Cup and the performance of the Indian team in the Caribbean Islands will definitely decide if the thought needs to be turned into action.
With little clarity over the future of veteran M S Dhoni, Pant has now become the preferred choice in all three formats and that was pointed out by chief selector MSK Prasad after the selection panel picked the squads for the West Indies tour.
"It's a great opportunity for someone like Rishabh Pant to really play a lot of international cricket, show his credentials, really unleash his potential at this stage," Kohli said here on Friday.
"We know how much ability he has and we all want him to become a consistent performer for the Indian cricket team. MS Dhoni's experience is always going to be a very crucial factor but having said that some of these younger guys have a great opportunity ahead of them and they should just look forward to it."
Kohli has already said the tour is a good opportunity for fringe players like Shreyas Iyer and Manish Pandey to stake a claim for a spot in India's brittle middle-order in ODIs.
The T20 here on Saturday will be India's first outing since the heart-breaking loss to New Zealand in the World Cup semifinals last month. The skipper is yet to get over the loss.
"The first few days after we exited the World Cup were quite difficult. Till the time the tournament got over, every time we woke up it was the worst feeling in the morning. Then through the day you do things and sort of get on with your life. We are professionals. We move ahead. Every team has to move on.
"So we are quite okay with what happened in the World Cup. Yesterday the fielding session and the little bit of time we spent on the field was really good. Everyone was excited, looking forward to just playing, just being on the field again. I think that's the best thing you can do as a team, just get on the park as soon as possible."
The Indian team could not train ahead of the game due to rain but having played here three years ago, it has an idea of the conditions.
"I think the covers look the same," quipped Kohli.
"We haven't seen the pitch, we haven't seen anything apart from the covers on the pitch. When we play tomorrow, we can assess how the pitch has come along. Even last time we played, it was pretty good, high-scoring, and we all had a lot of fun playing here, and this time is going to be no different."
Kohli is all for having more international games in the United States.
"For now I think it's all about creating that buzz and just getting people in to watch the games. The more we come here and play, obviously the game is going to get more and more buzz around it, people are going to talk about it.
"You see 15,000-20,000 people going to a place to watch something, obviously it should be important. Hopefully in years to come, people will have more interest. Local people in America as well, not just the Asian community or the West Indian community but the whole community in general will have more interest in the sport."
He feels the T20 format is the ideal one to promote the game globally.
"I think T20 cricket is something that can be understood and accepted in the American culture because of the length of the game and it's quite entertaining as well. So I think for the sport to become global in many ways, a lot of interest here will go a long way in achieving that for the sport," he added.
Opting to field, all the six Indian bowlers got at least a wicket apiece with Saini returning with figures of 3/17 in his debut match. The Indians were also helped by the reckless approach of West Indian batsmen.
There was no substantive partnership in the West Indies innings with the highest being the 34 between captain Carlos Brathwaite (9) and top-scorer Kieron Pollard (49) for the sixth wicket. Nicholas Pooran (20) was the only other West Indies batsman to score double digit figures.
India opened bowling with off-spinner Washington Sundar (1/18) and got a wicket in the second ball itself with John Campbell slapping straight to deep midwicket fielder Krunal Pandya.
The other opener Evin Lewis fell in the second over with pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar (2/19) beating him with a knuckle ball to rattle his timber. Both the openers failed to open their accounts as the West Indies were reduced to 8/2.
Despite the two quick wickets, the West Indians continued to be aggressive in their approach and Saini exploited the situation by claiming two wickets in two balls in the fifth over.
Pooran, who was looking dangerous after hitting two sixes, went for a big shot but the ball ballooned up in the air for wicketkeeper Rishab Pant to take an easy catch. Shimron Hetmyer (0) then dragged the ball onto the stump for Saini's second wicket.
West Indies procession to the dressing room continued with Rovman Powell (4) felling to Khaleel Ahmed (1/8) the next over -- 6th -- as they were reduced to 33 for 5 at the end of Powerplay.
Pollard and Brathwaite curbed their attacking instincts for a while and played some sensible cricket to remain united for eight wickets during which they added 34 runs.
Brathwaite and Sunil Narine got dismissed in the 15th and 16th overs respectively as West Indies could touch 100 in the end.
Saini made a memorable international debut by grabbing two important wickets off consecutive deliveries to help India restrict the West Indies to 95/9 in 20 overs after skipper Virat Kohli asked the Windies to bat first.
Coming to bowl in the fifth over after Washington Sundar and Bhuvneshwar Kumar had removed openers John Campbell and Evin Lewis for a pair of ducks, Saini (3/17) snared the wickets of Nicholas Pooran (20) and Shimron Hetmyer (0) off back-to-back deliveries to reduce the hosts to 28/4 after five overs.
West Indies could never recover from there even with comeback man Kieron Pollard top-scoring with a run-a-ball 49 (4x2, 6x4) before Saini got his back in the final over which he finished with a wicket maiden to cap off a dream debut.
Chasing 96 for victory, the visitors lost Shikhar Dhawan early, plumb in front to Sheldon Cottrell (2/20) in just the second over.
Skipper Kohli joined Rohit Sharma in the middle, the pair recently in the news for their reported rift after the World Cup.
Just when they were looking good, especially Rohit with some clinical hitting, the Indian vice-captain threw away his wicket for 24 from 25 balls (2x4, 2x6), trying to go for a needless big shot and holing out to Kieron Pollard at long-on off Sunil Narine (2/14).
Rishabh Pant showed little maturity, sweeping to Cottrell at deep square leg off Sunil Narine and getting out for a first ball duck leaving India in a spot of bother at 3/32.
Kohli held one end up as Manish Pandey (19) could not convert his good start, Keemo Paul (2/23) sending his stumps cartwheeling with a quick delivery.
It became tense when Kohli (19) top-edged a pull to Pollard at midwicket off Cottrell in the 14th over, with India needing 24 to win from 36 balls and five wickets in hand.
But Krunal Pandya (12) and Ravindra Jadeja (10 not out) guided the Men in Blue over the line with 16 balls to spare, as India took a 1-0 lead in the three match T20 series.
India scored 98/6 in 17.2 overs.
Earlier, it was all about Saini as he bowled with raw pace and in good lengths.
Besides Saini, pace spearhead Bhuvneshwar returned figures of 2/19 while Sundar (1/18), Khaleel Ahmed (1/8), Krunal Pandya (1/20) and Ravindra Jadeja (1/13) picked up one wicket each.
It all started for 26-year old Saini, blessed with raw pace, when he found Pooran's top edge with a short of length delivery, which flew to wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant.
In the very next ball of the fifth over, Saini was on a hat-trick on debut after castling Shimron Hetmyer. Returning in the final over, Saini trapped the big-hitting Pollard in front, with reviews confirming the dismissal.
The Windies' batters were all over the place as apart from Pollard and Pooran, none scored in double digits.
Brief scores: West Indies: 95/9 in 20 overs (Kieron Pollard 49, Navdeep Saini 3/17) vs India 98/6 in 17.2 overs (Rohit Sharma 24, Sheldon Cottrell 2/20, Sunil Narine 2/14, Keemo Paul 2/23)
Chasing a target of 168, West Indies laboured their way to 98/4 in 15.3 overs before the rain forced the play to be suspended.
Sunil Narine opened the innings with Evin Lewis in the absence of John Campbell. It took just eight balls for India to break the opening pair, with the struggling Lewis falling to Bhuvneshwar Kumar as the latter took a sharp catch off his own bowling.
Narine was dismissed in the next over by Washington Sundar.
Nicholas Pooran and Rovman Powell then ensured that West Indies don't lose any more wickets in the first 10 overs but they hardly managed to get any good momentum into the innings.
Both players were dismissed in the 14th over by Krunal Pandya.
Kieron Pollard and Shimron Hetmyer were in the middle when the players had to leave the field as it started pouring and the play had to be suspended with West Indies well behind the D/L-par score.
Earlier in the day, India posted 167/5 in 20 overs, powered by Rohit Sharma's 67 off 51 balls.
Rohit and Shikhar Dhawan managed an opening partnership of 65 before the latter was dismissed off the last ball of the eighth over.
West Indies did well to reign the Indians in after that but Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja provided a late push to take their team past the 160-run mark.
Kohli and Pant's 106-run stand for the third wicket negated any chance of West Indies pulling off an unlikely win. This was Kohli's 21st T20I fifty, thus helping him draw level with Rohit Sharma for most fifties in T20 internationals.
Pant, who got out for a duck and four in the series thus far, scored his second T20 international fifty of his career. Kohli was eventually dismissed on 59 when he hit Oshane Thomas straight to point in the 18th over. But Pant finished the game with a six straight over the bowler's head off the first ball of the last over. He was unbeaten on 65 at the end of the game.
It was K.L. Rahul who opened the innings with Shikhar Dhawan as Rohit Sharma was rested. He scored 20 off 18 balls before being stumped off Fabian Allen. Dhawan fell for just three runs in the second over.
Earlier, debutant Deepak Chahar and Navdeep Saini took three and two wickets to restrict the West Indies to 146/6. Kieron Pollard was their highest scorer with 58 off 45 balls. This was his first T20I fifty in seven years. However, he couldn't stick through the death overs as he was bowled by Saini in the 16th.
Rovman Powell and captain Carlos Brathwaite then pushed the West Indies' total to 146 in the last three overs.
In the one-minute video posted on the official Instagram account of the Indian team, Rohit is seen guessing the players enacted by Jadeja. While he took no time to guess leading pacer Jasprit Bumrah, the Indian opener took a little longer to recognize the antics of his skipper Virat Kohli which were enacted by Jadeja.
Earlier, before the first ODI, Shreyas Iyer and Shikhar Dhawan participated in the famous 'Speak Out' challenge.
In a two-minute 22-second long video posted on the official BCCI website, the two cricketers guessed each other's phrases which they tried to speak while wearing a mouthpiece that wouldn't let them shut their mouth.
India and West Indies will now meet in Port of Spain in the second ODI on Sunday.
Kohli was 19 runs shy of the landmark when he came into bat in the second ODI against the West Indies and he overtook Miandad's tally of 1930 runs with a single in the fifth over bowled by Jason Holder.
This was Kohli's 34th ODI against the West Indies while Miandad had accumulated his runs from 64 matches.
The prolific Indian captain has so far hit seven hundreds against the West Indies and has an average of over 71 in ODIs against the Caribbeans.
Australia's Mark Waugh is a distant third with 1708 runs from 47 matches, followed by South Africa all-rounder Jacques Kallis (1666 runs in 40 matches) and Pakistan's Rameez Raja (1624 runs in 53 matches).
Kohli played his first ODI against West Indies in the 2009 Champions Trophy in Johannesburg in which he scored an unbeaten 79. His first hundred against the West Indies came in 2011 in Visakhapatnam.
Kohli's domination against the West Indies cane be gauged from the fact that he struck four back-to-back centuries against them between July 2017 and October 2018.
Chasing 280 on Sunday, West Indies were bowled out for 210 in 42 overs as India took an unassailable 1-0 victory in the three-match rubber.
The chief tormentor for Windies turned out to be Kumar who continued his love affair with the Queen's Park Oval by picking up 4/31 in his allotted eight overs.
Opener Evin Lewis (65) and Nicholas Pooran (42) played substantial knocks and kept the hosts in the hunt. However, once India got their wickets, it turned out to be a difficult task for the Jason Holder-led side who felt short of the target by a substantial margin.
Earlier, Kohli, who was unable to score a single ton in the World Cup, made sure he didn't let the opportunity slide away from him as he scored his 42nd ODI century. The Indian run-machine ended his five-month drought for an ODI hundred with a classy ton during which he also went past Sourav Ganguly on the list of most runs scored in ODIs.
Kohli (120) shared a 125-run stand with Shreyas Iyer who played a gritty knock of 71 and made sure India get to a formidable total on a rather difficult pitch.
Chasing 280, West Indies needed their star performer Chris Gayle to blast in his record breaking 300th ODI appearance. However, it didn't happen as Gayle scored just 11 runs before he was trapped in front by Kumar. During the course of his 24-ball inning, the 39-year-old however went past Brian Lara's record for the most runs by West Indies batsman in ODIs. After his wicket, Shai Hope also perished cheaply before rain caused a brief interruption.
Following the resumption, the hosts were set a Duckworth Lewis and Stern (DLS) target of 270 in 46 overs.
West Indies did appear to be course of chasing the target for brief periods when Lewis, in the company of Shimron Hetmyer and then with Pooran, hit the ball cleanly and took the Indian bowlers to the cleaners. However, Kumar dented Windies' chase by picking up wickets at regular intervals and made sure the Men in Blue didn't lose the ODI series following their 3-0 triumph in the T20Is.
Kohli was adjudged the Player of the Match for his brilliant 120-run knock which consisted of 14 fours and a six.
The two teams will now lock horns with each other in the third and final ODI at the same venue on Wednesday before beginning their World Test Championship campaign from August 22 in Antigua.
Brief scores: India 279/7 in 50 overs (Virat Kohli 120, Carlos Brathwaite 3/53) bt West Indies 210 all out in 42 overs (Evin Lewis 65, Bhuvneshwar Kumar 4/31)
On Sunday, Kohli -- who was unable to score a single ton in the World Cup -- ended his five-month drought for an ODI hundred with a brilliant 120-run knock during which he also went past Sourav Ganguly on the list of most runs scored in ODIs.
After reaching the century-mark, Kohli reacted aggressively which showed how eager he was to break the shackles and come back to his usual attitude of scoring hundreds.
"From Virat's expression you know he badly wanted to score a hundred, not because he was out of form but because he was getting out on 70s and 80s. He is always known for scoring big runs," said Kumar speaking at the post-match press conference.
Earlier in the day, Kohli stroked his 42nd ODI century to pave way for India's 279/7. He stitched a 125-run stand with Shreyas Iyer for the fourth wicket.
The Delhi Capitals captain, returning to the ODI side in this series after almost 18 months, registered his third half-century in his sixth innings to help consolidate India's position after they were reduced to 101 for 3 in the 23rd over. In a 68-ball knock, he smashed five boundaries and a six as he amassed 71.
Kumar then returned with figures of 4/31 in his allotted 8-over spell and helped India bowl out West Indies for 210 in 42 overs, who were given a revised target of 270 in 46 overs after a brief interruption due to rain.
"It was a crucial partnership with Virat. It wasn't an easy wicket to bat on. He (Iyer) played with a lot of maturity," said Kumar while praising Iyer.
Meanwhile, the India skipper reckoned it wasn't an easy wicket to bat on and thus, it was pertinent for one of the top three to get a big score.
"It was a good outing with the bat," Kohli said at the post-match presentation. "It feels good to get a hundred when the team wanted me to get one. Shikhar and Rohit didn't get a big one. One of the top three has always got the big one. A senior man had to step up and today was my opportunity to step up."
Kohli was also full of praise for Iyer and added, "He (Iyer) is a very confident guy and has the right attitude. He really got the tempo going and took the pressure off me. After I got out, he got the extra runs as well."
Both the teams will remain in Trinidad for the final match of the series to be played on Wednesday, with the hosts having an opportunity to level the contest while the Men in Blue will aim for another commanding performance to seal the three-match rubber.
The weather continued to play havoc in this tour of India as the rain forced two interruptions after the hosts elected to bat in the match, which they need to win to level the series.
West Indies reached a healthy 158 for two in 22 overs when rain forced a second interruption and at resumption the contest was reduced to 35-overs-a-side.
Shai Hope (24) and Shimron Hetmyer (25) resumed the innings but they did not last long with Mohammed Shami dismissing the latter and Ravindra Jadeja cleaning up the former.
Nicholas Pooran played a whirlwind 16-ball 30-run knock to take the hosts past 200-run mark. The left-hander smartly handled the Indian spinners, launching Jadeja and Yuzvendra Chahal for massive sixes.
Shami struck again by sending back Pooran, who chipped a full-length delivery straight to Mainsh Pandey. Carlos Brathwaite added 16 runs with a six and a four.
Gayle came out with a clear plan to attack the Indian bowlers, making the most of what seemed his last international performance.
Whether it was Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Shami or Khaleel Ahmed (3/68) no Indian pacer was spared with Gayle hammering them for sixes with remarkable ease.
Spinner Chahal was the only bowler who commanded some respect from the West Indian marauder.
The left-handed opener -- the self proclaimed Universe boss -- punished the Indian bowlers with five sixes and eight shots to the fence in his entertaining knock.
He added 115 runs with fellow opener Evin Lewis, who was equally impressive with his 29-ball 43 which was laced with five fours and three sixes.
It was Chahal who brought some relief for the Indian camp by dismissing Lewis and soon Gayle too departed by hitting one straight to rival captain Virat Kohli at mid-off.
Soon after his dismissal, the Indian players rushed towards Gayle, shaking hands with him. Kohli even did Gayle typical jig before the burly West Indian walked off.
Gayle, in his inimitable style, put his helmet on the top of his bat's handle and lifted the bat in the air while walking off. Near the boundary ropes, he hurled the helmet in the air only to catch it back.
The BCCI on Twitter shared a video in which members of the team, including the likes of skipper Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja, Kedar Jadhav, coach Ravi Shastri can be seen extending their wishes.
#TeamIndia wishes everyone a very Happy Independence Day
Jai Hind ??#IndependenceDay pic.twitter.com/z2Ji00T2l0
— BCCI (@BCCI) August 14, 2019
While Kohli termed the Independence day as "the most iconic day in the history of our country", Jadhav wished the Indian fans in Marathi.
After a clean-sweep of the T20I series, the Men in Blue completed a 2-0 ODI series victory after winning the third match by six wickets at the Queen's Park Oval.
India and West Indies will now face each other in the two-match Test series, when both the teams will begin their World Test Championship campaign, from August 22.
Pant, 21, has so far had a forgettable Caribbean tour, managing scores of 0, 4, 65, 20, 0 in the T20 and ODI series, though India won both the rubbers.
In the third ODI on Wednesday, Pant threw away his wicket while trying to send Fabien Allen out of the park, only to see his mistimed hoick land in the hands of Keemo Paul in mid-off. What made the dismissal look worse was that it came off the first delivery that Pant faced.
"Enough of babysitting the babysitter. Teach him the value of a wicket with some punishment," a fan wrote on Twitter.
"Rishabh Pant is throwing away the wickets .. what an overrated player," wrote another fan.
In comparison, batting at No. 5, Shreyas Iyer showed much more composure for his 41-ball 65, thus putting more pressure on Pant for a chance in the crucial No. 4 slot.
Batting great Sunil Gavaskar had recently backed Iyer over Pant for the number four position in ODIs.
A video of the Pandya brothers coming out of the luxury sports car has gone viral on social media. Hardik has been rested for the West Indies tour.
Krunal recently told IANS that he now wants to graduate to the ODI side where Hardik has cemented his place as a first-choice all-rounder.
"The Windies series was a big confidence booster. It was the first series of the season and to do well against some quality players always helps. This is just the beginning and I will look to carry this forward into the next series.
"Looking to stay true to my goal and play across formats. That is an area of focus. I have played one-day ganes for India 'A' in the last two years and the experience has given me confidence that I can rise to the challenge. I want to play for India in all the formats and do well," he had said.
The Pandya brothers were part of Mumbai Indians' Indian Premier League (IPL) winning team this year.
Kohli has struck 18 Test centuries as Indian skipper and needs just one more century to equal Australia's Ricky Ponting's tally of 19 Test tons as a skipper. If he manages to get to a century at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, both Ponting and Kohli will be tied at the second spot.
Former South Africa skipper Graeme Smith is at the top spot with 25 centuries to his name in 109 Test matches, including 17 centuries in 56 overseas Tests.
Overall, Kohli has scored 25 centuries, which include six double hundreds.
India whitewashed Windies in both the T20I and ODI series and are expected to do the same in the two-match Test series, which will also see the two teams beginning their campaign in World Test Championship.
It could be toss up between Hanuma Vihari and Rohit Sharma as to who comes to bat at No 6 after vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane who is expected to bat at No 5. With Prithvi Shaw suspended, India are likely to open with K.L. Rahul and Mayank Agarwal with Cheteshwar Pujara and Kohli coming in at No 3 and No 4 respectively.
"Vihari has done well. It all depends on combination. Rohit's quality we all know and he has done well. It's about who provides the best balance," Kohli said at the pre-match press conference here.
"Happy that guys are grabbing opportunities. As long as this healthy competition is there, great for Indian cricket.
"We have a problem of plenty and that's a great position to be in," Kohli added.
There will also be a selection call to make as to who will stand behind the stumps with Wriddhiman Saha now back in the fray and Rishabh Pant also there. It remains to be seen whether India play an extra bowler and leave out a batsman as all-rounder Hardik Pandya has been rested.
"We are still thinking about the combination, we could not have a look at the wicket as it was covered. It's more or less a choice between three quicks and a spinner or two quicks and two spinners," Kohli said.
"Last time England played here, the wicket had quite a lot of variable bounce so..we will be flexible about the combination."
India tinkered with their opening combination the last time they played five-day cricket. Asked about more pressure falling on the middle order, Kohli said: "We are senior players and want to take bulk of the load. Along with Ajinkya, we want to take load off the other players and control the middle order. The opening combination, as you see we have two openers in the squad (Rahul, Agarwal) so the idea is to give them four innings to go out and express themselves."
India played in Australia last in January, winning the four-match series 2-1, which was their first ever Test series Down Under.
Kohli also reiterated his backing for World Test Championship, saying it would make every series more competitive.
"When you have points to play for, every match becomes more important. As I said, it's going to bring in more competition. The test championship is going to take the standard of Test cricket higher."
Kohli, who hit his maiden double hundred at this ground in 2016, added that he loves coming back here. "I love coming to this place, it is relaxing. It is also special in terms of getting my first double hundred here," he said.
In this series, India, the No 1 ranked Test team, will look to reinforce their position at the top of the standings and will bank on their experience to outclass the West Indies who will be low on confidence following the thrashing they received in the T20 and ODI series.
Speaking on his official Youtube channel, Akhtar said that since Rohit was a part of the squad for the two-match Test series against the Windies, it was important that he should also be given a chance in the XI to go out and grab his opportunity.
"I know Rohit has been given chances to play in the Test format earlier and he has not been able to grab on to the opportunity. But I believe he should be included in the team. He is a big match-winner, and not including him will be wrong. He is in good form and he should be given a chance right away," the 44-year-old expressed.
"When you have selected him in the squad, leaving him out of the playing XI should not be an option. I believe he will showcase his talent in the longest format of the game, he will become a great player in the Test format as well," Akhtar added.
Meanwhile, speaking on the Indian team, which had crashed out of the ICC World Cup after losing the semi-final contest against New Zealand this year, Akhtar also said the Virat Kohli-led team has recovered well. Earlier, India had outclassed West Indies in the just concluded T20I and ODI series.
"The team has recovered well after the World Cup set-back, and I believe they will perform well against West Indies in the Test series," Akhtar concluded.