India bounced back from their 43-run loss at Pune in style to thump the West Indies by 224 run in the fourth ODI at Mumbai on Monday.
Batting first, the hosts had posted a mammoth 377-5 in their 50 overs before their bowlers bundled out the visitors for just 153 runs despite a battling half-century from skipper Jason Holder.
As the hosts take a 2-1 lead in the five-match series, we look at the key talking points from Mumbai.
ROHIT SHARMA SLAMS 21ST ODI TON
Virat Kohli’s sensational form in the series has somewhat overshadowed his deputy Rohit Sharma’s. The opening batsman showed his class in the format by slamming an effortless ton in the opening ODI at Guwahati before registering single-digit scores in the second and third ODIs.
He roared back to form with another 150-plus score on Monday as he brought up his 21st ton in the ODI format. The 31-year-old was in supreme touch from the go in his home city as he took the attack to the Windies bowlers. Forging a 71-run opening stand with Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit stepped up the attack following his partner’s dismissal.
The right-hander carted four huge sixes and a whopping 20 boundaries in his 137-ball stay at the crease and was looking good for a fourth double-ton in the format before he was dismissed by Ashley Nurse in the 44th over of India’s innings.
Highest scores for India in ODIs each year from 2013 onwards:
— Bharath Seervi (@SeerviBharath) October 29, 2018
2013 - Rohit Sharma (209)
2014 - Rohit Sharma (264)
2015 - Rohit Sharma (150)
2016 - Rohit Sharma (171*)
2017 - Rohit Sharma (208*)
2018 - Rohit Sharma (162)#IndvWI
RAYUDU THRIVES IN NUMBER FOUR ROLE
Prior to the start of the series, Ambati Rayudu had been backed by Kohli to make the number four spot in the batting order his own. The right-hander had been in decent knick coming into Monday’s clash and he cashed in on his good form following the skipper’s dismissal for a sub-100 score for the first time in the series.
India barely felt the absence of Kohli in the middle as Rayudu constructed his innings masterfully. Going at less than run-a-ball in the first half of his innings, Rayudu pressed on the accelerator at just the right time to bring up an 80-ball hundred.
Although the batsman was run-out immediately after notching up his third ODI ton, his 201-run stand for the third-wicket with Rohit had set up India for a mammoth total.
What will please the team management most about Rayudu’s innings at Mumbai will be the fact that it was the first century registered by an Indian batsman batting at number four or lower in over 22 months.
Ambati Rayudu is the great survivor of Indian cricket. Happy to bat anywhere, always contributing. You never write him off. Much to admire in him.
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) October 29, 2018
RUN-OUTS AND KHALEEL BLOW AWAY VISITORS
A chase of 378 required the Windies batsmen to get off to an impeccable start but it was anything but that as shoddy running between the wickets cost the top-order.
After Chanderpaul Hemraj had been dismissed by Bhuvneshwar Kumar, in-form batsman Shai Hope was run-out for a duck in the same over with Kuldeep Yadav getting a direct hit. In the very next over, it was Kieran Powell’s turn to be run-out after a nonchalant reverse flick from Kohli.
If run-outs blew away the Windies top-order, then it was the turn of Khaleel Ahmed to destroy the middle-order. The left-armed pacer picked up three wickets in as many overs to start off his spell in electric fashion.
Getting the ball to come in late to the right-handers, Khaleel accounted for the dangerous Shimron Hetmyer, Marlon Samuels and Rovman Powell in his sensational burst to all but extinguish Windies’ hopes of pulling off the miraculous.
By the time his third over had ended, the visitors had slumped to 56-6 with the match well and truly in India’s bag.
Khaleel Ahmed has been more impressive today than at any other time I have seen him because he is swinging the ball back into the right hander. Makes a huge difference to the way a batsman approaches the bowler when there is swing
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) October 29, 2018
