Thiruvananthapuram: A ruthless India completed a nine-wicket demolition of the West Indies in the fifth and final ODI here Thursday for their sixth successive series win at home.
Left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja (4/34) shone with ball to help India bundle out the West Indies for 104 in just 31.5 overs. Pacers Khaleel Ahmed (2/29) and Jasprit Bumrah (2/11) chipped in with a couple of wickets each.
The home team took just 14.5 overs to reach the paltry target, courtesy an unbeaten 99-run stand between Rohit Sharma (62 n o, 54b, 5×4, 4×6) and captain Virat Kohli (33 n o, 29b, 6×4), following another falter from Shikhar Dhawan (6).
It was a complete surrender from the West Indies, who let themselves down after competing hard in the first three ODIs. The previous game at Mumbai too was dominated by the hosts before they romped to a 3-1 series win here. India last lost a series at home in 2015, when they went down 2-3 against South Africa.
The hosts wasted in no time completing the 105-run target after the bowlers laid the foundation of a massive victory. Rohit continued his fine form, notching up a half century, in the process going past the 1,000-run mark in 2018 and also hitting his 200th six in ODIs.
The India vice-captain had a lucky escape when he was caught behind by Shai Hope off Oshane Thomas’ (1/33) bowling on 18. He made most of that reprieve. Dhawan’s soft dismissal would probably be one of the lows for India as he chopped on a delivery from Thomas.
Earlier, the West Indies were in trouble right from the start after skipper Jason Holder chose to bat. Pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar (1/11) dismissed Kieran Powell for a duck off the fourth ball, giving India their first wicket.
The Windies were soon reduced to 2/2 after the dismissal of in-form Shai Hope off a Bumrah delivery. Marlon Samuels (24, 38b, 3×4, 1×6) along with Rovman Powell (16, 39b, 1×4) tried to make some amends with a 34-run third wicket stand before wickets at regular intervals restricted the visitors to 104. Skipper Jason Holder (25, 33b, 2×4) was the only other man to offer some resistance.
Brief scores:
West Indies 104 in 31.5 overs (Jason Holder 25, Marlon Samuels 24; Ravindra Jadeja 4/34, Jasprit Bumrah 2/11) lost to India 105/1 in 14.5 overs (Rohit Sharma 63 n o, Virat Kohli 33 n o) by nine wickets.
