AHMEDABAD: Half-centuries by Shreyas Iyer and Rishabh Pant, as well as a strong bowling performance, helped India to a 96-run victory over the West Indies in the final ODI of the three-match series in Ahmedabad.

After winning the toss and electing to bat first, India amassed a total of 265 runs. However, the start was not ideal. Early in the innings, the hosts lost the wickets of skipper Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, who were both dismissed by Alzarri Joseph in the fourth over. Odean Smith was introduced into the attack, and he delivered with the wicket of Shikhar Dhawan, further putting India on the back foot.

In the 10th over, the hosts were at 42/3 when Rishabh Pant joined Shreyas Iyer at the crease. The tricky nature of the surface made it difficult for them at first, but they hung in there and started scoring once the conditions improved. The pair steadied the innings well, putting on a 110-run stand for the fourth wicket.

Pant had scored a counterattacking fifty and was posing a serious threat. But he had to leave because he was caught behind while attempting to guide a delivery from Hayden Walsh down the third-man.

Suryakumar Yadav came in to bat next, but it wasn't his day, as he was out for six runs. Iyer, who was batting well on 80, also immediately fell while attempting a poor shot, and India had suddenly lost three wickets for just 35 runs.

The West Indies were looking to close the innings at this point, but Deepak Chahar and Washington Sundar batted well, scoring 38 and 33 runs respectively, to help India reach a competitive total of 265.

The visitors did not get off to the kind of start required to chase this target. By the fourth over, India's new-ball bowlers — Mohammed Siraj and Chahar — had reduced them to 25/3, with the wickets of Shai Hope, Brandon King, and Shamarh Brooks.

With a 43-run stand, Darren Bravo and Nicholas Pooran attempted to steady the ship, but wickets began to fall at regular intervals once they were dismissed. Odean Smith and Alzarri Joseph gave their all down the order, contributing 36 and 29 runs respectively, but it wasn't enough to get West Indies anywhere near the target.

West Indies were eventually bowled out for 169 runs. Siraj and Prasidh Krishna each took three wickets, while Chahar and Kuldeep Yadav added a couple of wickets each. With this victory, India completed a whitewash and will now fly to Kolkata to face the visitors in the T20I leg, which begins on February 16th.

Edited - SportsAction / Inputs - Agency