KINGSTON, July 7: An unbeaten century from captain Virat Kohli and a half-century by Dinesh Karthik steered India to a comfortable eight-wicket win over West Indies in their fifth one-day in international on Thursday, sealing a 3-1 series victory.
The hosts were restricted to 205-9 after Mohammed Shami (4-48) ripped through the West Indies batting order, leaving Kohli (111) and Karthik (50 not out) to propel the tourists to 206-2 in only 36.5 overs.
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After winning the toss and choosing to bat first on a favorable pitch, West Indies struggled right from the start. Tied down by India's spinners and then run through by the pace attack led by Shami and Umesh Yadav (3-53), West Indies looked unlikely to follow up its victory in the 4th ODI of the series.
Most of the resistance came from the Hope brothers, with Kyle hitting 46 from 50 balls before being caught off a Yadav delivery with the hosts on 76-2, while Shai lasted until the 42nd over before offering a catch to Ajinkya Rahane off Shami while on 51.
Jason Holder (36) and Rovman Powell (31) tried to get some momentum going, but the total was never going to pose a problem for the tourists.
After a false start in the first over, when Shikhar Dhawan (4) was dismissed by Alzarri Joseph, India had accelerated to a respectable 78 runs by the time Rahane was trapped leg before by Devendra Bishoo in the 19th over. Kohli and Karthik promptly took control of the match, with the India skipper hammering 12 fours and two sixes in his 115-ball knock, while his partner managed four boundaries from 52 deliveries.
The tour continues in Kingston on Sunday, when the teams meet again for the only Twenty20 match.
