Virat Kohli Lift His Team to claim 9th Consecutive Series Win

Virat Kohli Lift His Team to claim 9th Consecutive Series Win

Captain Virat Kohli claimed his second consecutive centenary to secure the series' victory in India in the third match, as India spoiled Chris Gayle's possible ODI swan song at the Port of Spain on August 14. In what appeared to be his last ODI for the West Indies. Gayle made his way to a 72-runs, leading the hosts to a competitive 240 for seven in the rainy match after they chose to bat.

Shortly after his dismissal, the Indian players ran to Gayle and shook his hand. Kohli even made a typical Chris Gayle squad before the burly Indian left.

Chris Gayle, in his inimitable style, put his helmet on top of his bat handle and lifted it in the air as he walked away. Near the border ropes, he tossed his helmet into the air just to retrieve it.

Gestures suggest Chris Gayle has played his latest ODI.

India set a revised rigid target of 255-runs with the Duckworth-Lewis method, but Kohli's insatiable appetite for racing and securing young Shreyas Iyer's captain meant that it ultimately turned out to be a comfortable six-way victory wicket that resulted in a 2-0 series win.

Iyer's 65-stroke counter-attack shot changed the game when he took the pressure off his captain.

It was India's ninth consecutive ODI series win, at home and away, over the West Indies.

Coming out batting when India had lost the first Rohit Sharma match (10), Kohli lifted his 43rd ODI hundred and in the process crossed the phenomenal mark of 20,000 runs in international cricket.

Kohli remained undefeated in 114 and completed the victory with consecutive boundaries against Carlos Brathwaite.

His dominant stroke was 99 balls with 14 fours and the Indian captain now averages 60.31 in ODI. Kohli had scored 120 in the second ODI.

After Shikhar Dhawan (36) squandered a start, the drummer Rishabh Pant proved that he is not learning from his mistakes, as he was again guilty of playing a reckless shot, obtaining a first-ball duck.

In contrast, Iyer played intelligently and maturely to lift a crucial 120-stroke position with Kohli for the fourth wicket, bringing the team close to the target. His hit was 41 balls with five sixes and three limits.

When he was fired, India needed 43 runs over 40 balls, but Kedar Jadhav (19 was not) made sure there was no turn in the story. He lifted an undefeated 44-stroke place for the sixth wicket.

Previously, the West Indies reached a healthy level of 158 for two out of 22 overs when rain forced a second interruption and when competition resumed it was reduced to 35 over-a-side.

Shai Hope (24) and Shimron Hetmyer (25) resumed entries but did not last long with Mohammed Shami firing the latter and Ravindra Jadeja cleaning the first.

Nicholas Pooran played a whirlwind of 16 balls and 30 runs to take the hosts beyond the 200-runs mark. The left-hander intelligently handled the Indian spinners, throwing Jadeja and Yuzvendra Chahal for six huge ones.

Shami attacked again by sending back to Pooran, who sent a full delivery directly to Manish Pandey.

Gayle came out with a clear plan to attack Indian bowlers, taking advantage of what seemed like his last international performance.

Whether Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Shami or Khaleel Ahmed (3/68), no Indian country was spared Gayle beating them for six years with remarkable ease.

Spinner Chahal was the only bowler to demand some respect from the West Indies marauder.

The left-handed opener, the self-proclaimed boss of the Universe, punished Indian bowlers with five sixes and eight shots to the fence in his entertaining coup.