Hope, Nurse help West Indies level series
PUNE: Shai Hope’s 95 and a brilliant all-round performance by Ashley Nurse helped West Indies stun India by 43 runs in the third oneday international on Saturday as the tourists levelled the series at 1-1.
Skipper Virat Kohli’s record third successive century went in vain as India were bowled out for 240 in 47.4 overs while chasing 284 in Pune.
Nurse took two crucial wickets with his off spin after his 22-ball 40 guided the tourists to 283-9. Hope top-scored for West Indies during his 113-ball knock. In reply India lost wickets at regular intervals with only Kohli holding the fort during his 119ball 107 before being bowled by parttime spinner Marlon Samuels.
Samuels took three wickets with his off spin while skipper Jason Holder and fellow paceman Obed Mccoy also picked two wickets each to flatten India’s chase.
Holder bowled opener Rohit Sharma for eight and later got Mahendra Singh Dhoni caught behind for seven as India slipped to 215-6.
Kohli, who came into the match at the back of his 140 and 157 not out in the first and second match, made 107 to become the first Indian batsman to hit three back-to-back ODI tons.
Nicknamed King Kohli, the prolific run-getter carried on from where he left off in Visakhapatnam when he became the quickest to reach 10,000 ODI runs in his 205th innings.
But after scoring his 38th ODI century in his 214th ODI he saw his stumps rattled by Samuels with India needing another 64 runs. WEST INDIES K Powell c Sharma b Bumrah .................. 21 C Hemraj c Dhoni b Bumrah .................... 15 S Hope b Bumrah .................................... 95 M Samuels c Dhoni b Ahmed .................... 9 S Hetmyer st Dhoni b Yadav .................... 37 R Powell c Sharma b Yadav ........................ 4 J Holder c sub (Jadeja) b Kumar .............. 32 F Allen c Pant b Chahal .............................. 5 A Nurse lbw Bumrah ................................ 40 K Roach (not out) ..................................... 15 O Mccoy (not out) ...................................... 0 Extras: (B-1, LB-4, W-5) ........................... 10 Total: (For 9 wkts, 50 overs) ........... 283 Fall of wickets: 1-25, 2-38, 3-55, 4-111, 5-121, 6-197, 7-217, 8-227, 9-283. Bowling: Kumar 10-0-70-1, Bumrah 10-135-4, Ahmed 10-0-65-1, Chahal 10-1-56-1, Yadav 10-0-52-2. INDIA R Sharma b Holder .................................... 8 S Dhawan lbw Nurse ............................... 35 V Kohli b Samuels ................................. 107 A Rayudu b Mccoy ................................... 22 R Pant c Hope b Nurse ............................. 24 MS Dhoni c Hope b Holder ........................ 7 B Kumar c R Powell b Mccoy ................... 10 K Yadav (not out) ...................................... 15 Y Chahal c sub b Roach .............................. 3 K Ahmed st Hope b Samuels ..................... 3 J Bumrah c Holder b Samuels ................... 0 Extras: (LB-1, W-5) .................................... 6 Total: (all out, 47.4 overs) ............. 240 Fall of wickets: 1-9, 2-88, 3-153, 4-172, 5-194, 6-215, 7-220, 8-225, 9-237. Bowling: Roach 10-0-48-1, Holder 9-0-462, Mccoy 5-0-38-2, Nurse 10-0-43-2, Allen 10-0-52-0, Samuels 3.4-1-12-3.
Samuels soon disposed off the Indian lower-order, returning figures of 3-12 in his 3.4 overs.
Earlier, Indian fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah returned impressive figures of 4-35 to dent the opposition batting with regular strikes but Hopes and Nurse had other ideas. The fourth ODI of the five-match series is scheduled for Monday at Mumbai’s Brabourne Stadium.