Indian spinner Kuldeep Yadav put up a dazzling performance during the three-match ODI series against the West Indies, leaving the opposition batters perplexed. In the third ODI held at the Brian Lara Stadium in Trinidad, Yadav displayed his bowling prowess by taking two wickets on Tuesday.
However, he was deprived of a third wicket on the last ball of the 35th over. Yadav bowled an excellent delivery to Jayden Seales, and on-field umpire Michael Gough declared him out for a catch. Unfortunately, Seales challenged the decision, and the ultra edge technology revealed that there was no contact between the bat and the ball. The third umpire then reviewed for LBW, but since the impact was in favor of the umpire’s original call, and Gough had not given Seales out for LBW, Yadav missed out on a wicket.
Nevertheless, Seales couldn’t capitalize on his lucky escape as he got dismissed three balls later by Shadrdul Thakur. As a result, India convincingly defeated West Indies by a massive 200 runs in the third ODI, clinching the series 2-1.
Earlier in the day, West Indies captain Shai Hope elected to field first. Shubman Gill, who had a relatively quiet performance throughout the Caribbean tour, finally found his rhythm and scored 85 off 92 balls. His opening partnership of 143 with the in-form Ishan Kishan (77 off 64 balls) laid the foundation for a commanding score of 351 for 5.
Sanju Samson also made a strong case for being selected as a reserve middle-order batsman with his knock of 51 off 41 balls. Furthermore, skipper Hardik Pandya’s unbeaten 70 off 52 balls, including five sixes and four boundaries, provided the finishing touches on a favorable batting wicket.
The West Indies’ chase was always going to be an uphill battle, and Mukesh Kumar’s three-wicket burst during the first Powerplay further dashed their hopes. Eventually, they were bowled out for 151 in just 35.3 overs. However, Gudakesh Motie (39 not out) and Alzarri Joseph (26) put up a brief resistance with a 55-run partnership for the ninth wicket before their team’s inevitable defeat.
