Rohit, Rahul tons, Kuldeep's hat-trick crush Windies' chase, level series

Opening duo Rohit Sharma-KL Rahul’s centuries and left-arm spinner Kuldeep Yadav’s hat-trick helped India defeat West Indies by 107 runs on Wednesday in the second ODI of the three-match series at the Dr YS Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam.

With this win, India has levelled the three-match one day series with a score of 1-1.

After being put in to bat, Rohit Sharma’s 159, which earned him the man of the match, and KL Rahul’s 102 enabled India post a score of 387/5 in 50 overs. The duo put on a 227-run partnership before Alzarri Joseph scalped Rahul soon after his ton.

Soon after, Windies skipper Kieron Pollard sent back his India counterpart Virat Kohli for a golden duck, reducing India to 232/2.

However, Rohit went on a song as he brought up his 159, following which keeper Rishabh Pant (39 from 16) and Shreyas Iyer (53 from 32) mounted a tall total of 387.

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Chasing a mammoth target of 388 runs, West Indies got off to a steady start. Opener Evin Lewis fell after 61, causing a tumble in the Windies top order. Shimron Hetmyer and Roston Chase followed him to the pavillion, leaving the visitors at 86/3 before Nicholas Pooran and opener Shai Hope staged a fightback.

Kieron Pollard faced Kohli’s fortune and went for a golden duck. A late fightback from Keemo Paul (46 from 42) wasn’t enough for the Windies to chase down the mammoth total.

That’s when Kuldeep Yadav struck a hat-trick, taking out Shai Hope, Jason Holder and Alzarri Joseph in three consecutive balls. This was Yadav’s second hat-trick in an ODI, making him the first Indian to do so.

Soon after the West Indies innings folded for 280 and India managed to win the match by 107 runs.

India and West Indies will next take on each other in the final ODI on Sunday, December
22.