India bag sixth successive ODI series win

India won the third and final ODI against the West Indies by five wickets on Wednesday in Kanpur, thus securing a sixth ODI series win on the trot and remaining unbeaten in terms of series in 2013.

India won the third and final ODI against the West Indies by five wickets on Wednesday in Kanpur, thus securing a sixth ODI series win on the trot and remaining unbeaten in terms of series in 2013.

The Windies posted a decent 263 for five in their 50 overs, with the series level at one all, thanks to three top order half centuries. But a ton from Shikhar Dhawan made those null and void as the hosts won with 23 balls to spare.

India won the toss and chose to field first, and while they removed Johnson Charles early on, the Windies top order did a superb job of frustrating the home bowlers and putting on meaningful partnerships.

Kieran Powell and Marlon Samuels were the most successful pairing, making 117 runs together over the span of 24 overs. Powell struck nine fours in his knock of 70, before becoming one of Ravi Ashwin's two wickets.

The other was that of Samuels, who had made 71 off 93 balls, including a six and seven fours, before being bowled by the lanky spinner. Lendl Simmons and Dwayne Bravo departed cheaply soon afterwards.

The final stand between the Darrens of Bravo and Sammy saw them add 67 runs. Bravo was unbeaten on 51 at the end of the knock, while Sammy had 37 and would have been confident of defending the score.

But India, given their recent history of chasing down 300-plus targets, made relatively light work of the chase, reaching 266 for five in 46.1 overs, with Dhawan's ton the highlight and Yuvraj Singh's fifty assisting him.

One failure on the day was Rohit Sharma, whose incredible run of form couldn't protect him from Ravi Rampaul, who claimed his wicket, for four, in the fifth over. Virat Kohli then came in to make 19 before departing.

This left Dhawan and Yuvraj to put on 129 for the third wicket, by far the best stand of the game. The youngster and the veteran went at six to the over, with Yuvraj showing his experience by playing the anchor role.

They pushed the score from 61 when Kohli departed to 190 when Yuvraj was sent packing, caught by Dwayne Bravo off Sunil Narine for 55. Suresh Raina then joined Dhawan for the next 30 runs before the opener fell too.

Once Dhawan was dismissed by Dwayne Bravo for 119 off 95 balls, his ton having come off just 73 deliveries, Raina and MS Dhoni recorded the rest of the runs, with 34 and 23 not out respectively.

<b>India:</b> Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohit Sharma, Mohammed Shami.

<b>West Indies:</b> Kieran Powell, Johnson Charles, Marlon Samuels, Darren Bravo, Lendl Simmons, Dwayne Bravo, Darren Sammy, Jason Holder, Sunil Narine, Ravi Rampaul, Veerasammy Permaul.

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