Gill, Chahal star in rout as India complete 3-0 sweep

After a couple of closely fought finishes in the first two encounters, India produced a dominating performance in the third and final ODI at the Queen’s Park Oval on Wednesday to complete a 3-0 clean sweep over the West Indies. Half-centuries from openers Shikhar Dhawan (58 off 74) and Shubman Gill (98* off 98) took the tourists to 225 for 3 in 36 overs before Yuzvendra Chahal’s four-fer bowled out the West Indies for 137 in a rain-curtailed affair in Port-of-Spain.

Having won the toss and opted to bat, India’s openers continued their excellent run in the series as they put on their second century stand of the tour. The skipper Shikhar Dhawan took his time at the crease but quietly ticked over to score 58 off 74, while Gill grew with confidence as the innings wore on and finished with a career-high score of 98*.

The first rain break came after Dhawan’s dismissal in the 23rd over, reducing the game to 40 overs per side. The visitors had just 16 more overs to bat after the two-and-a-half-hour delay, and Iyer and Gill switched up their approach upon the resumption of play to increase the scoring rate. The pair added 84 runs in 49 deliveries after the break, with Iyer smashing Hayden Walsh for a four and a six before Gill launched the leg-spinner over his head for another maximum. The duo also laced a trio of fours in the next over from Jayden Seales and continued to dissect the field and find the boundaries before Iyer holed out to long-on on 44.

Gill kept the runs flowing after Iyer’s dismissal, but his bid for a maiden international century was cruelly cut short by the weather. The opener was left stranded on 98 when the skies opened for a second time to end the India innings prematurely after 36 overs on 225 for 3.

The West Indies needed to chase a DLS-revised target of 257 in 35 overs after the second delay, and the hosts’ reply got off to a terrible start as Mohammed Siraj struck twice in his first over. The seamer uprooted the stumps of Kyle Mayers before trapping Shamarh Brooks on his pads with a vicious inswinger. Shai Hope and Brandon King staged a brief recovery with a 47-run partnership, but Yuzvendra Chahal had Hope stumped on 22 before Axar Patel cleaned up King with an arm-ball.

Nicholas Pooran played a fighting hand of 42 that included five fours and a six, but the skipper received no support from his teammates as India picked up the final five wickets for just 18 runs to dismiss the hosts for 137 and register a comprehensive 119-run victory.