West Indies finally got their act together to snatch an upset 16-run victory over world champions India to keep themselves afloat in the five-match series in the third One-Day International in Ahmedabad on Monday.
Chasing a competitive 261, Rohit Sharma struck a classy 95 but the Indians lacked firepower to overhaul the target and were ultimately bowled out for 244 in 46.5 overs.
West Indies, who desperately needed a victory to keep themselves in the reckoning, recorded their first win in the tour to reduce the margin to 1-2 in the ODI series after having lost the Test rubber 2-0.
The last wicket pair of Abhimanyu Mithun (23) and Umesh Yadav (11 not out) raised hopes of unlikely win with 28-run stand after India were reduced to 216 for nine in 43.3 overs.
But it was not be as West Indies' most impressive bowler Ravi Rampaul (4-57) trapped Mithun plumb in front of the wicket to end India's winning streak.
Sharma, whose 100-ball knock was laced with 10 fours and a six, and Ravichandran Ashwin (31 in 64 balls) put on a defiant stand of 91 in 115 balls to keep India in the hunt after a top-order collapse that saw India lose half of their side with only 84 on board by the 16th over.
The dangerous-looking stand was finally broken by debutant Sunil Narine (2-34) when he had Ashwin out leg before in the 40th over. And then Sharma was brilliantly by run out West Indies skipper Darren Sammy with a direct hit four overs later to tilt the balance of the match.
Mithun, who struck two fours and as many sixes, and Yadav brought India closer to an improbable win but in the end it was not enough as West Indies clawed their way back into the series.
Earlier, out-of-form captain Darren Sammy and all-rounder Andre Russell smashed the Indian bowlers in the last five overs to guide the West Indies to a challenging score of 260 for five.
Russell scored an unbeaten 40 off only 18 balls, inclusive of four fours and two sixes, while Sammy, smashed an unbeaten 41 off 17 deliveries, laced with five fours and two sixes.
The Indian bowlers were taken to cleaners in the final five overs, which yielded a whopping 73 runs.
Their unbroken sixth-wicket stand produced 79 runs off only 34 balls and lifted the visitors from 181 for five in the 45th over to well past the 250-run mark.
India need to score their runs at an asking rate of 5.21 per over in order to take an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match series.
Marlon Samuels found some form going his way to score a half century, but the West Indies put up yet another disappointing batting display as they struggled before the double act by Russell and Sammy.
After a slow start, Samuels, who also flopped in the first two games, kick-started the innings with a well-made 58, although he took 93 balls in the process. He hit five fours and a six, but Ravichandran Ashwin dismissed him to put the brakes on the West Indies scoring rate in the middle overs.
The lower-order, in which Denesh Ramdin (38) and Kieron Pollard (29) did their bit, struggled, to a large extent, against the slow bowlers.
After the fall of Ramdin and Pollard, in the space of four balls, it was left to Russell and his captain skipper Sammy to accelerate the run-rate as they waded into off-colour new ball bowlers Umesh Yadav and Abhimanyu Mithun and scored runs at a fast clip to provide their team a very challenging score.
But for their brisk stand, the final tally would have been below par against the formidable Indian batting line-up.
India's most impressive bowlers were medium pacer R Vinay Kumar, who grabbed 2 for 39, and Ashwin, who had to be content with one wicket although he came back strongly after being punished in the last match.
Mithun, who had a decent first spell, saw his figures go for a toss after he gave away 23 runs in his seventh and last over, while Umesh Yadav also gave away 75 runs in nine overs.
The West Indies, going into the game in a must-win situation after being down 0-2 in the rubber, were off to a very slow start besides losing an early wicket, that of opener Lendl Simmons and were seven for one after five overs.
Simmons was dismissed in the second over, with only two on board, by Vinay Kumar, who had the batsman edging low to 'keeper Parthiv Patel.
On-field umpires Tony Hill and Sudhir Asnani referred to third umpire Vineet Kulkarni, who adjudged the batsman out after viewing the replays.
Hyatt and Marlon Samuels, dismissed in single figures in the first two games, got together and were stringing together an important partnership when the former needlessly touched a ball going down the leg-side from the unimpressive Abhimanyu Mithun to 'keeper Patel and was caught.
Mithun, who had been preferred to Australia-bound Varun Aaron after the latter's expensive stint in the second game at Vishakapatnam, bowled short and wide initially in his first spell of six overs.
He was punished a bit by Samuels, who lofted the Bangalore bowler straight and over the covers for successive fours in the bowler's first over to give the much-needed kick-start to the sluggish scoring rate.
The dismissal of Hyatt brought in left-hander Darren Bravo together with Samuels who looked in good touch and the duo raised the 50 of the innings in the 17th over.
Bravo off-drove Mithun for a handsome four before Samuels turned his attention on Umesh Yadav, in his second spell, and struck the Vidarbha pacer for two fours and a six, a disdainful front-footed loft over the straight field.
The 19th over, and the bowler's fifth, cost 16 runs to the team. The Windies, 41 for two after 15 overs, scored another 36 runs without further damage in the next five overs. The second Powerplay taken by the fielding side fetched 33 runs.
Bravo, on 14 in a total of 80, should have been sent back when he was stranded short of his ground after responding to a call for a run by striker Samuels but bowler Ashwin, was guilty of throwing the ball wide from behind the stumps after gathering it.
The duo went on to raise the 50 of the partnership in 69 balls for the third wicket when the visitors suffered a setback with Bravo retiring hurt on 26 in a team score of 97 to cut short the blooming 55-run stand.
Runs came in a trickle with off-spinner Ashwin, who had conceded 74 runs in 10 overs in the Vizag game, bowled well this time.
Backing him up at the other end, in turns were left arm slow bowler Ravindra Jadeja and part time off-break bowler Suresh Raina.
Samuels reached his 50 in 78 balls with a single after the team's hundred came in the 27th over.
The visitors took the batting Powerplay after 33 overs at 121 for 2 but to their dismay lost the well-set Samuels to the first over of this period from Ashwin.
The batsman, having scored his 22nd half century, tried to drive the bowler coming round the wicket, missed connecting and was bowled off-stump.
Samuels's 58 contained 5 hits to the fence and one over it and came off 93 balls but his dismissal came at the wrong time as two new batsmen were to negotiate the batting Powerplay.
With the spinners keeping it tight, only 19 runs came off it and at the end of the 38th over West Indies were in a none-too-happy 140 for 3.
Pollard and Ramdin, who made a plucky 38 in 52 balls with three fours, stitched a partnership of 55 runs in 61 balls that was snapped by Yadav who leaked two fours in his seventh over, the 44th of the innings, before having the latter caught brilliantly by a leaping Patel behind the stumps.
Another superb running catch by Jadeja, who sprinted 25 yards to his left at long off before completing it and then falling full stretch inside the boundary line, sent back Pollard four balls later when he lofted Vinay Kumar.
Then came the partnership between Sammy and Russell, who made mincemeat of Yadav and Mithun, to lift the Windies to a very competitive score.
Going into the match both India and West Indies made one change in the their playing XIs. India brought in Mithun in place of Aaron while Adrian Barath made way for Sunil Narine in the West Indies side.
Photograph: Reuters
