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After a thrilling contest in the second ODI which ended in a tie, the series moved to Pune, where India and Windies locked horns for the third ODI. Virat Kohli, for the third consecutive time, called the right side of the coin and this time decided to chase. India bought back their frontline pacers Bhuvi and Bumrah and the result was quick wickets.
Hope and Hetmyer tried to stitch together another partnership but this time Kuldeep came to the rescue. Stitching together small little partnerships and with some help from Ashley Nurse, Windies put up a fighting total of 283. Their star performer was Shai Hope, who scored 95 off 113 balls. For India, it was Jasprit Bumrah who took 4 wickets giving away just 35 runs.
India’s chase did not start on a positive note as they lost Rohit early. Shikhar and Virat tried stitching a partnership but the former was dismissed, again, against the off-spinner. The middle order trio of Rayadu, Pant, and Dhoni also failed to make an impact. It was all again down to the captain, Virat Kohli to had to take India across the line but he too perished after scoring a gritty 107 off 119 balls.
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After that, it was a mere formality for the visitors as they cruised towards a win to level the 5 match series 1-1.
Here is what the captains said:
Virat Kohli: We bowled pretty well. I think the wicket was not offering much in the first 35 overs. From 227 for 8 we should have been chasing 250-260 at the maximum. It was a pretty gettable total. We did not get the partnerships going. In the field we were fine. This Windies side is an explosive side and they can beat any team on a given day.
When Hardik and Kedar both play, we get the extra option of a bowler. When someone like Hardik is not playing, who gives you both bowling and batting option, it is difficult to get the balance. It is a bit embarrassing when people ask you the same thing again and again. I wanted to go after him (Samuels) and just did not execute well. Definitely, we have to take the wins and losses in our way. Just shake the loss away. Our plans are there and we just need to execute better.
Jason Holder: Credit to the boys. We hung in the game for as long as possible. I should have gone deeper. Something to learn there. We hung in there. They were probably a batter short. We knew if we remove Dhoni, we could get into their lower order. He (Nurse) is a competitor. I know what to expect from him. He keeps it tight and gives us wickets at regular intervals. The guys are learning better. We just need to be consistent. We need to buck up more. If you want to be one of the best team, you have to be consistent in all aspects of the game.
Ashley Nurse (MOM): I guess it was my day. I guess I played with a lot of free spirits. Sometimes you can be the hero, sometimes you can be zero as well. Just dedicating the celebration to my Indian friend - Sunny Sohal.
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