Cricket: India Win ODI Series Against West Indies! Dhawan Posts His 5th Hundred Of The Year As India Register 6th Successive Series Win!

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Shikhar Dhawan Blazing Away

India beat West Indies by 5 wickets in the final one day international in Kanpur today and won the three-match ODI Series 2-1. The Indian victory came largely thanks to opener Shikhar Dhawan who scored a magnificent century (119 off 95 balls)—his 5th in the year 2013. Team India has also achieved the 6th successive ODI Series victory in 2013 (January to November) starting with the India-England Series (3-1), ICC Champions Trophy in England, Tri-Nation Series in West Indies, India-Zimbabwe Series in Zimbabwe (5-0), India-Australia Series (3-2) and this India-West Indies Series (2-1). Team India has kept the victory momentum going despite stalwarts leaving the team in a phased manner and the consistent weakness in the bowling front. What India do next in South Africa will be both expecting and exciting.

In this day match that started in hazy wintry conditions the first hour was going to be crucial. Indian captain MS Dhoni elected to bat first after winning the toss mainly due to this reason and also because of a very healthy Indian chasing record. The Dhoni gamble gave him just one wicket despite fact that the Indian pacers put West Indies batsmen under a lot of pressure for quite some time. Continuing his good form of the last match Powell (70 off 81) crafted a fast-paced partnership of 117 runs with Samuels (71 off 93) and West Indies looked good for a huge total. However, Indian spinners Ashwin and Jadeja turned the tide in India’s favor taking three quick wickets. West Indies yet again averted a habitual collapse as the heroes of the last encounter DM Bravo (51 off 53) and Darren Sammy (37 off 38) helped their team to attain a competitive score of 263/5 in fifty overs.

The Indian chase looked rather easy as Shikhar Dhawan blasted away with magical boundaries and Yuvraj Singh (55 off 74) found his form to the delight of his fans.  Raina made it easier still playing a cameo of 34 in 43 balls without any kind of pressure. Although both settled batsmen, Yuvraj and Raina, got out with India still needing more than fifty runs captain Dhoni and Jadeja ensured a victory without any fuss reaching 266/5 with nearly four overs to spare. Dhawan deservedly won the man of the match and Virat Kohli the man of the series awards. The Scorecard:

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