Shai Hope's 95 and a brilliant all-round performance by Ashley Nurse helped West Indies stun India by 43 runs in the third one-day 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 119-ball 107 before being bowled by part-time 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. 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.
Hope, who made 123 for West Indies in the tied game on Wednesday, put on a crucial 76-run sixth wicket stand with skipper Jason Holder, who made 32, to lift the visitors from early losses. Number-nine batsman Nurse then played a useful cameo during his 56-run ninth wicket stand with Kemar Roach to give his side a late boost that in the end proved decisive.
Bumrah - the number one ranked ODI bowler - made a strong return to the team after he was rested for the first two games, removing the openers early but West Indies fought back. The fourth ODI of the five-match series is scheduled for Monday at Mumbai's Brabourne Stadium.
SCOREBOARD
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West Indies
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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 b Bumrah 40
K. Roach not out 15
O. McCoy not out 0
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Extras: (b1, lb4, w5) 10
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Total: (9 wkts, 50 overs) 283
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Fall of wickets: 1-25 (Hemraj), 2-38 (K. Powell), 3-55 (Samuels), 4-111 (Hetmyer), 5-121 (R. Powell), 6-197 (Holder), 7-217 (Allen), 8-227 (Hope), 9-283 (Nurse)
Bowling: Kumar 10-0-70-1 (w2), Bumrah 10-1-35-4 (w2), Ahmed 10-0-65-1 (w1), Chahal 10-1-56-1, Yadav 10-0-52-2
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India (target 284)
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R. Sharma b Holder 8
S. Dhawan lbw b 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 (Paul) b Roach 3
K. Ahmed st Hope b Samuels 3
J. Bumrah c Holder b Samuels 0
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Extras: (lb1, w5) 6
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Total: (all out, 47.4 overs) 240
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