Rohit, Jadeja star as India rout West Indies in 5th ODI, win series 3-1

India destroyed West Indies by nine wickets in the fifth and final ODI against West Indies on Thursday. Set a meagre target of 105 at the Greenfield Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram, India cruised to victory with Rohit Sharma top-scoring (63 not-out) and skipper Virat Kohli remaining unbeaten on 33.

Earlier, left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja took four wickets to help India bundle out the West Indies for 104. It was a complete surrender from the West Indies whose innings lasted just 31.5 overs. Ravindra Jadeja stood out with figures of 4 for 34 while Khaleel Ahmed and Jasprit Bumrah took two wickets each.

The visitors were in trouble right from the start after skipper Jason Holder chose to bat. Pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar had Kieran Powell caught behind by M S Dhoni for a duck off the fourth ball, giving India their first wicket.

Shai Hope, who has been one of the best West Indies batsmen on tour alongside Shimron Hetmyer, was castled by Bumrah off a beauty in the second over to leave the team at 2 for 2. The experienced Marlon Samuels, from whom a lot was expected, led a brief revival, hitting some crisp boundaries and the only six of the innings.

The Indian domination could be gauged from the fact that the first boundary came in the sixth over when Rovman Powell lofted one from Bumrah over the infield. Samuels' resistance ended in the 12th over when he fell to a soft dismissal of Jadeja for 24, spooning a catch to skipper Virat Kohli.

As has often been the case in the series, Holder showed patience and skill to resist the rampant Indian bowlers but his dismissal hastened the end. The lanky Holder was taken by Kedar Jadhav, running in from the deep when he tried to go ariel against Khaleel Ahmed. He was the top-scorer with 25. The spinners took over and polished off the tail.

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