SYDNEY: Virat Kohli fired the opening salvo on the Australia tour with a match-winning 61, helping India win the third T20 International by six wickets and draw the three-match series 1-1 here on Sunday.

Scorecard: India vs Australia, 3rd T20I

Kohli's sublime 41-ball knock and his 60-run unbeaten stand with Dinesh Karthik (22 not out off 18) gave India the much needed series-levelling win ahead of the all-important Test series beginning December 6 at Adelaide.

The captain's perfectly executed chase in 19.4 overs came after Shikhar Dhawan (41 off 22 balls) and Rohit Sharma (23 off 16 balls) provided a flying start to the innings.

Earlier, Krunal Pandya took career-best figures of 4-36 as Australia were restricted to 164/6 in 20 overs.

Australia won the opening T20I by four runs while the second game was a washout, putting additional pressure on India who came here at the back of winning six T20I series in a row.

Chasing 165, Dhawan and Sharma put on 50 runs off just 28 balls.

Both batsmen took the aerial route with aplomb and hit seven fours and four sixes between them to leave the Australian bowlers clueless. Overall, India scored 67/1 in the powerplay overs.

Mitchell Starc (1-26) had got the breakthrough in the sixth over, trapping Dhawan lbw via DRS referral. It put a momentary break on scoring as no runs were scored off the next eight balls, resulting in Sharma's dismissal, who played on off Adam Zampa (1-22).

KL Rahul (14) started off by scoring a monster six, and added 41 runs for the third wicket with Kohli. India crossed 100 in the 12th over, but the former started struggling for timing and holed out shortly afterwards.

It became a double blow as Rishabh Pant was out for a first-ball duck, gloving behind off a slower short ball from Andrew Tye (1-32).

India were in bit of a bother at that stage, but Kohli and Dinesh Karthik brought out their shots. The latter played a perfect foil to Kohli as he struck a four and a six to bring down the asking rate.

Kohli meanwhile reached his 19th T20I half-century off 34 balls and took India home with two balls to spare.

This was after Pandya's orthodox left-arm spin came in handy during the middle overs after the hosts had sped to 68/0 after winning the toss and opting to bat.

Australia made one change to their line-up, with Mitchell Starc coming in for Jason Behrendorff. India picked an unchanged eleven.

Aaron Finch (28) and D'Arcy Short (33) then provided a cautious start to the innings, albeit they picked up momentum quickly as the Indian pacers struggled in conditions vastly different from Brisbane and Melbourne.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar (0-33) and Khaleel Ahmed (0-35) both proved expensive, while first-change Jasprit Bumrah (0-38) too didn't stem the flow of runs, as Australia raced to 49/0 at the end of powerplay overs.

The Finch-Short partnership put pressure on the Indian fielding, shoddy again, and Rohit Sharma put down a sitter off Finch (on 22) at the start of the eight over off Pandya.

Kuldeep Yadav (1-19) then provided the much-awaited breakthrough as Finch was out caught sweeping at short fine leg.

It opened the doors to the Australian middle order. Glenn Maxwell (13) survived an lbw shout via DRS off Yadav, but Short and Ben McDermott (0) were dismissed lbw off successive balls in the tenth over as Pandya pegged Australia back.

The quick wickets disturbed Australia's momentum and they never really recovered, losing wickets at regular intervals in the second half of their innings. They had held back Chris Lynn (13) but he couldn't provide the requisite impetus, run-out in the 18th over.

In between Pandya also accounted for Maxwell, caught by Sharma in the end, as also the vital wicket of Alex Carey (27) who held the Australian middle order together after the initial setbacks.

Marcus Stoinis (25 not out off 15 balls) played an attacking cameo at the end, and put on 33 runs with Nathan Coulter-Nile (13 not out) as Australia finished with a score just above average (151) at this ground.

SYDNEY: Staring at an imminent defeat after seven successive series wins on trot, India will be looking for yet another solid bowling performance against a brittle Australian top-order in third and final T20 International on Sunday.

ALSO READ: Pace spearhead Mitchell Starc summoned for final T20I

India were in with a very good chance of levelling the series in Melbourne on Friday after reducing Australia to 132 for 7 in 19 overs but rain put paid to their hopes.

Now a win at the SCG will at least let Virat Kohli's team share the bragging rights and more importantly remain in a good frame of mind before the real test begins at Adelaide on December 6.

India are unbeaten in T20I engagements since July 2017, when they last lost to West Indies in a one-off game in the Caribbean. They have won 20 out of 27 T20Is since then in different conditions and against varying opposition.

In doing so, India are unbeaten in nine consecutive T20I series since August 2017, including a drawn two-match contest against Australia at home (October 2017).

They have won seven consecutive T20I series since – the Nidahas Trophy win in the tri-series in Sri Lanka (also including Bangladesh) and beating England away 2-1 in the summer gone past, are the highlights of this unbeaten run.

Last time in Australia, back in 2016, India had won the T20I series with an unprecedented 3-0 margin.

Rain though has played spoilsport with their chance of winning a second consecutive T20I series Down Under. Perhaps the only silver lining is that they still can maintain their unbeaten record in this format with victory on Sunday.

In order to achieve this, India will like to carry on from where they left off in Melbourne. The surprisingly unchanged bowling attack put in a more disciplined performance as compared to their Brisbane outing, and both pacers and spinners were able to put the Australian batting order under constant pressure.

There were hiccups in the field of course – two dropped catches in keeping with a shoddy display in Brisbane as well. This is one area that the Indian team will be keen to improve on when the final game begins, for it could well be the difference again if the Australian batting clicks.

Pre-game in Melbourne, there was talk that the Indian team management might revert to type and bring back Yuzvendra Chahal to re-ignite his partnership with Kuldeep Yadav in a must-win game.

The stakes haven't changed going into the series decider, yet India's improved showing with the ball gives reason for picking an unchanged side.

Given the situation, skipper Virat Kohli showed surprising consistency in team selection and continued to back Krunal Pandya in the all-rounder guise.

The latter put in an improved showing of 1-26 in four overs, bowling Glenn Maxwell with a slow turner. The SCG wicket is known to be helpful to spinners and thus there is no case to leave Pandya out.

It remains to be seen if India will be tempted to play Chahal nevertheless, if conditions do turn out to be drier than in Brisbane and Melbourne.

The only option to do so is in leaving out Khaleel Ahmed then, who despite being a touch expensive in the first game has justified his selection thus far.

Dropping Ahmed won't be easy, as Kohli adopted stand-in skipper Rohit Sharma's plan (used against West Indies at home) to pair him with Bhuvneshwar Kumar first and bring in Jasprit Bumrah as first-change.

Leaving him out would mean Kumar-Bumrah sharing the new ball, and unless conditions demand it, the team management again might not be too keen to change what clearly worked in Melbourne.

Whilst the Indian team was waiting for the rain to stop and play to resume, it was also noticeable that Kohli was sitting padded up in the dugouts even as openers Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma warmed up.

It hinted at a possible re-promotion for the skipper to number three, in light of KL Rahul's struggles off late. It is again improbable that the latter will be left out at Sydney, but Kohli batting at number three and boosting the top-order in the series' finale could be India's best bet.

Australian pacer Billy Stanlake, who twisted his ankle during pre-match warm-up on Friday, is slated to undergo a scan on Saturday.

His availability for Sunday's game thus is under doubt but the hosts haven't yet named an alternative with Nathan Coulter-Nile stepping in to take his spot in the side in the second T20I.

Weather is set to relent on Sunday and unless conditions are drier than anticipated, Aaron Finch has no reason to change his playing eleven.

His side now stands on the cusp of a surprise series' win against India, one thought inconceivable at the start of this week given the current turmoil in Australian cricket.

Teams:

India: Virat Kohli (capt), Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Manish Pandey, Shreyas Iyer, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Rishabh Pant, Krunal Pandya, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umesh Yadav, Khaleel Ahmed, Washington Sundar.

Australia: Aaron Finch (capt), Ashton Agar, Jason Behrendorff, Alex Carey, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Chris Lynn, Ben McDermott, Glenn Maxwell, D'Arcy Short, Billy Stanlake, Marcus Stoinis, Andrew Tye, Adam Zampa.

Match starts at: 1.20 pm IST.

MELBOURNE: The second T2O International between India and Australia was called off due to intermittent rain on Friday, undoing the visitors' good work with the ball and denying them an opportunity to level the three-match series.

India were naturally disappointed at not getting a go at the target which was revised thrice due to rain. Australia had scored 132 for seven in 19 overs when the first spell of rain arrived at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

India's target was initially revised to 137 runs in 19 overs before more rain made it 90 runs from 11 overs and then 46 from five overs. Nearly 90 minutes were lost due to the fickle weather before the game was eventually called off at 10.02 pm local time.

Rain playing hide and seek was not just frustrating for the players but also for the 60,000 plus crowd gathered at the iconic venue.

With the match not producing a result, India now can only level the series in the final game in Sydney on Friday. Virat Kohli and his team had come into the T20 series after winning six bilateral contests in a row.

India put up a much improved with the ball on Friday, following the disappointment of the series opener at the Gabba on Wednesday.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar (2-20) and Khaleel Ahmed (2-39) shared four wickets to rock the Australian top-order and reduce them to 41-4 at one stage.

This was after India won the toss and opted to bowl. The visitors went in with an unchanged side while Australia made one change, bringing in Nathan Coulter-Nile for Billy Stanlake who picked up an ankle niggle during warm-up.

Kumar then struck with his second delivery, dismissing Aaron Finch (0) caught behind. From there onwards, India exerted themselves on the field and there was never any let up.

But there were hiccups. The swing bowler should have had at least a couple more wickets, but was twice unlucky in the third over.

First, Rishabh Pant spilled a difficult diving catch behind the wickets with D'Arcy Short (14) getting a life on 7. Two balls later, Chris Lynn (13), on nought, should have been caught at fine leg, only for Jasprit Bumrah (1-20) to spill it over the rope and for a six.

Ahmed did strike in the fourth over and pegged Australia back as Lynn was caught in the deep going for another big one. Two overs later, he bowled Short and India's missed chances didn't cost them too much.

The longer boundaries further aided India as Bumrah had Marcus Stoinis (4) caught in the deep in the seventh over to put the hosts under more pressure.

Glenn Maxwell (19) and Ben McDermott (32 not out) added 21 runs for the fifth wicket to stem the rot, but Krunal Pandya (1-26) struck to remove danger-man Maxwell. The spinner found some grip and a hint of turn as Maxwell was bowled in the 11th over.

Kuldeep Yadav (1-23) too made his presence felt, chipping in with Alex Carey's (4) dismissal, sending the prominently Indian crowd into raptures.

Australia somehow managed to cross the 100-mark in the 16th over, thanks to a 27-run partnership between Nathan Coulter-Nile (18) and McDermott.

Coulter-Nile hit two sixes and a four during his nine-ball stay. McDermott held one end together and put on 31 runs off 20 balls with Andrew Tye (12 not out), providing a little impetus to the innings before rain halted proceedings.

BRISBANE: A sloppy India failed to get an ideal start to the Australia tour, losing the rain-hit opening T20 International by four runs at the Gabba on Wednesday.

FULL SCORECARD

India first faltered in the field, letting Australia score 158 for four after rain shortened the contest to 17 overs a side. Glenn Maxwell was the star batsman for Australia, hammering 46 runs off 24 balls.

The 45-minute rain stoppage meant India were set a revised target of 174 runs in 17 overs.

Opener Shikhar Dhawan smashed a sublime 76 off 42 balls in the run chase before Dinesh Karthik came up with a pulsating 30 off 13 balls towards the end but India still finished agonisingly short on 169 for seven.

It was a morale boosting win for Australia, who have endured a dismal run of late in limited overs cricket.

The second match of the three-match series will be played in Melbourne on Friday.

Dhawan got India off to a quick start, putting on 35 off 25 balls for the opening stand with Rohit Sharma (7).

The latter was caught at long on off Jason Behrendorff (1-43) in a bid to accelerate his strike-rate. In keeping with the strategy used during the T20I series in England, KL Rahul (13) came out to bat at number three.

Dhawan and Rahul put on 46 runs for the second wicket, but it was mostly down to the left-hander's belligerence. He hit ten fours and two sixes overall, and reached his ninth T20I half-century off only 28 balls.

Rahul though was patchy at best and struggled for timing. He was stumped off Adam Zampa (2-22) in the ninth over, with the leg spinner also accounting for skipper Virat Kohli (4) who never really got going coming down at number four.

Zampa should have had a third wicket but he dropped a return chance from Dhawan (on 65). The batsman enjoyed another life at 74, when substitute Nathan Coulter-Nile put him down at square leg off Billy Stanlake (1-27).

The asking rate was climbing up and it took a toll on Dhawan, who finally holed out of Stanlake, leaving Rishabh Pant (20 off 15 balls) and Karthik with a mountain to climb.

They nearly achieved the impossible, putting on 51 off a mere 24 balls, toying around with the Australian bowling. But what is becoming increasingly frustrating with Pant, he played yet another loose and unnecessary stroke, throwing his wicket away.

It left Karthik to finish off things, but he found the going tough without enough support from the other end. With 13 needed off 6 balls, Krunal Pandya (2) and Karthik holed out on consecutive deliveries off Marcus Stoinis (2-27).

This was after Maxwell hit four sixes in a whirlwind knock before rain came, after Chris Lynn scored 37 runs off 20 balls to help Australia recover from a slow start.

India had won the toss and opted to bowl on a surprisingly green wicket. Kuldeep Yadav was picked ahead of Yuzvendra Chahal as expected, while the hosts also included a spinner in Adam Zampa and left out medium pacer Coulter-Nile.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar (0-15) and Jasprit Bumrah (1-21) got India off to a good start but Aaron Finch (27) pulled things back a bit. Khaleel Ahmed (1-42) got the initial breakthrough as D'Arcy Short (7) was caught at long on. The left-arm pacer proved expensive thereafter.

Kuldeep took a sensational catch running back to dismiss Short, and from there onwards, he had a marked influence on the game.

Later he also picked up 2-24 in his four-over spell. He dismissed Finch and then sent back Lynn as well, thus reducing Australia to 75-3 in the 11th over.

Apart from Yadav's stunning effort, India were rather poor in the field. Skipper Kohli had dropped Finch in the fourth over, a straight chance spilled at cover, and then miss fielded later on as well.

Ahmed too dropped Stoinis (33 not out off 19 balls) late in the Australian innings, while Maxwell should have been run-out.

Finch took advantage of the reprieve and put on 40 runs off 26 balls with Lynn for the second wicket.

But it was Maxwell who stole the show with his belligerent hitting as Australia crossed 150 in the 16th over. He put on 78 runs off 37 balls with Stoinis as Indian bowlers proved expensive even before the death overs began.

Krunal Pandya had a forgettable day with both bat and ball. He went for 0-55 in his four overs before rain intervened, sucking out momentum from the Australian innings and leaving them only five deliveries on resumption of play.

Bumrah bowled cleverly, conceding only five runs after the disruption, while Australia still finished with a challenging total on the board.

Live Blog: India vs Australia | Scorecard
TARGET: 174 in 17 overs


Overs 9: India 84/2, need 90 more off 48 balls
Successful over for Adam Zampa - dismissed KL Rahul and gave away just six runs in it.

Overs 8.2: India 81/2
OUT! Third umpire gave his decision in Australia's favour. KL Rahul gone stumped for 13

Overs 8: India 78/1
Big over for India - 17 came off it. Dhawan (59* off 31) hit a six and two fours in Jason Behrendorff's final over (4-0-43-1)

Overs 7.3: India 70/1
FIFTY for Shikhar Dhawan off 28 balls, his ninth in T20Is, which included a six and eight fours

Overs 7: India 61/1
First over of spin and Adam Zampa conceded eight runs in it. KL Rahul (10*) hit a four for his first boundary of the innings.

Overs 6: India 53/1
Shikhar Dhawan (42* off 25 balls) welcomed Andrew Tye with consecutive fours in the bowler's first over. India scored 12 runs off it

Overs 5: India 41/1
Successful over for the hosts. India lost opener Rohit Sharma to Jason Behrendorff

Overs 4.1: India 35/1
OUT! Jason Behrendorff struck in the fifth over to give Australia an important breakthrough, dismissed Rohit Sharma (7)

Overs 4: India 35/0
Dhawan (27* off 17) kept the momentum going and started the over with a four again.

Overs 3: India 27/0
One more boundary from Shikhar Dhawan's bat as they scored nine in the over. The left-hander is batting on 22 off 14 balls

Overs 2: India 18/0
Dhawan (13*) hit a four off Billy Stanlake in the over as India started the run chase on a positive note

Over 1: India 11/0
Shikhar Dhawan started aggressively, hitting Jason Behrendorff for two fours.

Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan in the middle to start the India run chase. Jason Behrendorff with the ball for Australia

The revised target for India is 174 in 17 overs (DLS). The 78-run stand for the fourth wicket between Maxwell (46) and Stoinis (33*) gave Australia the much needed boost after losing three quick wickets.

Overs 17: Australia 158/4
So Australia managed just five runs in the final five balls after rain delay

Overs 16.2: Australia 153/4
Jasprit Bumrah struck as soon as play resume, dismissed Glenn Maxwell (46).

15:30 IST: UPDATE! Australia will bat five more balls. It is now a 17-over game

Looks like covers are coming back after respite from rain for a few minutes.

Overs 16.1: Australia 153/3
BAD NEWS! Covers are coming out as the rain has started in Brisbane

Glenn Maxwell (46* off 23 balls) and Marcus Stoinis (31 off 15 balls) are in the middle for Australia and they have so far added an unbroken 78-run stand for the fourth wicket.



Overs 16: Australia 152/3
17 came of it as run started to flow freely for the hosts. Maxwell and Stoinis hit Krunal for a six each in the over. The partnership is growing very fast for the two Aussie batsmen

Overs 15: Australia 135/3
Kuldeep Yadav bring some respite again for India. No boundary in the over, even though eight runs came off it.

Overs 14: Australia 127/3
Another massive over for Australia - 23 came off it. Glenn Maxwell (33* off 17) smacked three consecutive sixes off Krunal Pandya to lead the hosts' run charge

Overs 13: Australia 104/3
Big over for the hosts - 14 came off it. Marcus Stoinis hit two fours off Khaleel Ahmed as Australia kept the pressure on the India bowlers

Overs 12: Australia 90/3
Marcus Stoinis took a successful review to change the 'LBW' decision by the umpire in the Krunal over. The ball was going over the stumps.

Overs 11: Australia 83/3
Another successful over from Kuldeep Yadav, dismissed the dangerous Lynn in it. New batsman Marcus Stoinis hit a four in the over to score eight runs off it.

Overs 10.1: Australia 75/3
OUT! Caught & Bowled. Kuldeep Yadav scalped the dangerous Chris Lynn (37 off 20). The Aussie batsman smacked four huge sixes in his 20-ball cameo

Overs 10: Australia 75/2
Chris Lynn welcomed Krunal Pandya with a six in his first over. Good for Pandya that he managed to restrict just eight runs in the over

Overs 9: Australia 67/2
Another good over from Kuldeep Yadav -- four runs and a wicket for the spinner in it

Overs 8.3: Australia 64/2
OUT! Kuldeep Yadav gave India a big respite from the onslaught. Aaron Finch gone for 27, which came off 24 balls with the help of three boundaries.

Overs 8: Australia 63/1
Massive over for the hosts - 21 came off it. Australia, specially Chris Lynn, has decided to break loose, as the right-hander smacked three huge sixes off Khaleel Ahmed

Overs 7: Australia 42/1
First over by spinner and Aussie batsmen are watchful as expected. Kuldeep Yadav gave away four singles in it.

Overs 6: Australia 38/1
Finch using the early respite to good use and hit Bhuvi for a four off first ball. But good comeback from the pacer, only three singles came after it in the over.

Overs 5: Australia 31/1
Successful over for both India and Khaleel Ahmed. Chris Lynn started his innings with a boundary

Overs 4.1: Australia 24/1
OUT! Good catch by Kuldeep Yadav as Khaleel Ahmed struck with his first ball of the match to dismiss D'Arcy Short (7).

Overs 4: Australia 24/0
Big over for the hosts - 12 came off it. It started with India skipper Virat Kohli dropping his counterpart Aaron Finch off the first ball. Bumrah then conceded two consecutive fours to Finch.

Overs 3: Australia 12/0
DÁrcy Short finished the Bhuvi over with a four, first of the match, as the hosts scored seven in it.

Overs 2: Australia 5/0
Watchful start from the Aussie openers. Jasprit Bumrah over ended with a swing and a miss from DÁrcy Short.

Over 1: Australia 1/0
Good start from Bhuvi, gave away just a single in the final ball of the over.

Here we go... Aaron Finch and D'Arcy Short in the middle to start the Australia innings. Bhuvneshwar Kumar with the ball for India

TOSS | India skipper Virat Kohli win the toss and opt to field first at The Gabba in Brisbane

Playing XIs

India: Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli (c), Lokesh Rahul, Rishabh Pant (w), Dinesh Karthik, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, K Khaleel Ahmed

Australia: D Arcy Short, Aaron Finch (c), Chris Lynn, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Ben McDermott, Alex Carey (w), Andrew Tye, Adam Zampa, Jason Behrendorff, Billy Stanlake

PITCH REPORT
Brett Lee observes that there is a nice covering of grass. Not many cracks visible and the surface looks rock hard. Adds that the white ball should fly through. Opines that the conditions seem to be a little bit swirly which will make the ball talk.

Hello and welcome to the live coverage of the first of the three-match T20I series between India and Australia in Brisbane. The match starts at 13:20 IST and toss at 12:50 IST.

LUCKNOW: It’s always a gamble to predict winners in the shortest format of cricket. More so, if the game is between world T20 champions West Indies and India. But the hosts, after their win in the opener in Kolkata, will be on a high and look to wrap up the three-match series here at the Ekana Stadium on Tuesday, before the bandwagon moves to Chennai for the final game of what has been a long and testing tour for the visitors.

Tuesday’s contest will be this venue’s inaugural international game.

With India experimenting with alternatives in search of resources before the ODI World Cup next year, there will be an opportunity for youngsters to showcase their talent. Krunal Pandya and Khaleel Ahmed did well in their debut matches in Kolkata, and the side is likely to field a few more new faces in the next two games.

Dhoni’s absence will provide both Rishabh Pant and Dinesh Karthik yet another chance to showcase their ability. Pant, so far, has been bold with the bat but needs to tighten up things while wearing the gloves. Karthik, on the other hand, came up with a responsible innings to guide India to victory after initial wobble in the opening game.



The presence of five spinners – Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Krunal Pandya, Washington Sundar and Shahbaz Nadeem – in the squad points to the fact that the selectors want to test all the probable tweakers before deciding the team for the World Cup.

The sudden dip in form of opener Shikhar Dhawan has been a worry. The Delhi opener hasn’t been able to make an impact. He will have to take a leaf out of his opening partner and skipper Rohit Sharma’s book on how to build an innings. Another concern has been the rustiness of new-ball bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Coming back from an injury, the Meerut lad has so far been a shadow of his earlier self, unable to hit the right areas, and has leaked runs.

The biggest plus of the side has been the way their two premier bowlers Kuldeep Yadav and Jasprit Bumrah have shaped up. Bumrah has helped in containing things upfront and in the ‘death’ overs, while Yadav has asked the batsmen some difficult questions in the middle phase.

The visitors have their share of problems. The biggest has been the lack of consistency. The batting, except for some bright patches from Shimron Hetmyer and Shai Hope, has looked clueless. Now with Darren Bravo, Kieron Pollard and Carlos Brathwaite back in the side, they will have more choices to attack the Indians.

West Indies’ bowling too has lacked sting. Paceman Keemo Paul has displayed some spark, but has lacked variations to cage in the Indians. Rest of his partners have been nothing more than mediocre.

This being the inaugural international game at the venue, the wicket can hold some surprises. The strip, though, is devoid of grass and seems set for a runathon.

KOLKATA: India ended a four-match winless run against the West Indies with a five-wicket victory that came on the back of debutant Krunal Pandya's flourish and Dinesh Karthik's poise on Sunday.

BLOG | SCORECARD

This was India's first win against the World T20 champions since 2014, spanning five matches.

WATCH: Mix-up between Hope and Hetmyer turns into comical run-out

Wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav (3/13) led the Indian bowlers' fine show to restrict West Indies to 109 for eight after stand-in skipper Rohit Sharma opted to field on a dew-laden Eden Gardens.

India responded well with the pacers giving them a fine start after Umesh Yadav dismissed Denesh Ramdin in the third over.

Playing their first match at home without the inspirational Mahendra Singh Dhoni, India were 45 for four in eight overs, leaving their fragile middle order exposed.

But the 'local boy' Karthik, who leads Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL, stayed calm in his 31 not out from 34 balls (3x4, 1x6) to steer India home with 13 balls to spare.

Hardik's brother, Krunal, hit the winning boundary off Keemo Paul in the 18th over. The new Pandya smashed 21 off nine balls.

The 21-year-old debutant pacer Oshane Thomas (2/21) gave Windies a flying start, removing both the openers -- Rohit Sharma (six) and Shikhar Dhawan (three) -- for 16 inside the third over.

He bowled a peach of a delivery that clocked 147kph, the extra bounce taking an inside edge off Rohit's blade to dismiss the stand-in skipper on his happy-hunting ground.

In his next over, he struck once again, rattling Dhawan's middle-stump.

It was a perfect scenario for dashing Delhi wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant as he had ample time in the middle to play a match-winning knock and justify his inclusion in the side.

But Pant (1) got out playing a rash shot in his four-ball stay to become skipper Brathwaite's first victim.

Back at the ground where he hit four sixes in an over to help his side win the World T20 two years ago, Brathwaite next dismissed KL Rahul (16) in a wicket maiden over to put India on the backfoot.

Fortunately for India, the target was not a steep one and all they needed was a sensible partnership, which turned out to be the 38-run stand from 45 balls between Manish Pandey (19) and Karthik.

Earlier, debutant Khaleel Ahmed (1/16) and Jasprit Bumrah (1/27) ensured that the Windies run-rate dried up before the spin duo of Krunal Pandya (1/15) and Kuldeep made merry. Kuldeep (3/13) also completed 100 wickets in T20 cricket.

Tottering at 63 for seven inside 15 overs, the Windies looked to fold up inside 100 but Fabian Allen (27 from 20 balls) and Khary Pierre (15 not out from 13 balls) lifted the total past 100.

Krunal finished with excellent figures of 1/14 bowling his four overs at a stretch.

After being hit for a six by Kieron Pollard in his first over, the left-arm spinner not only dismissed the explosive batsman but conceded just four runs in his final three overs to finish on a high.

Down with a "gastric complaint", Bhuvneshwar Kumar pulled out in the last minute despite being named in the XII, but his absence was hardly felt with Yadav and debutant and Khaleel doing a fine job.

Left-arm pacer, Khaleel, was sensational giving away just 10 runs from his three overs, including a maiden over to Pollard.

It was in the same over the Windies batsmen made a mockery of running between the wickets and were sprinting against each other after confusion.

Opener Shai Hope, who had impressed with an unbeaten 123 and 95 in the ODI series, was the poor victim.

Introduced in the fifth over, Bumrah picked up another in-form batsman, Shimron Hetmyer (10), in his fourth over.

Runs dried up early as the visitors struggled at 31 for three, and the World T20 champions never looked at ease in their favourite format, taking 62 balls to complete 50 runs.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The ball swung from the beginning for the seamers and it spun for the spinners. It also stopped on the batsmen making batting a tricky business. Add to that some mindless shots by the West Indies batsmen and what had the potential to be a thrilling series decider turned out to be a damp squib here at the Sports Hub on Thursday as India cruised to a nine-wicket win and took the series 3-1.

West Indies were bowled out for a paltry 104 in 31.5 overs and India chased down the target in 14.1 overs losing just one wicket finishing the match in just over three-and-a-half-hours and in the process making the threat of possible evening showers irrelevant. Ravindra Jadeja (4/34) capitalized on the good start given by the seamers to set up India's sixth consecutive series win at home. This was also India's eighth successive series triumph against West Indies.


The pitch at Sports Hub was not a batting paradise as most expected and even Jason Holder seemed to have misread it electing to bat. But on a track where 230-250 would have given them a golden chance, five batsmen perished going for ambitious lofted shots, four among them caught in the deep.

West Indies decided to go for an all-Powell opening partnership with Rovman Powell, who had struggled against spin promoted to open the batting in place of Chandrapaul Hemraj. The troubles of Kieron Powell (0) though had no end as Bhuvneshwar Kumar got the ball rolling with a delivery that moved away from the left-hander and got the nick. Dhoni did the rest to snap his 425th dismissal as a wicketkeeper, rising to third in ODIs, pipping Mark Boucher. He has only Kumar Sangakkara (482) and Adam Gilchrist (472) ahead of him.


Jasprit Bumrah then got the big wicket in his first over. Shai Hope, the joint top-scorer for Windies till then in the series with 250 runs, could not add to his tally. Bumrah surprised Hope (0) with prodigious movement off the deck to dislodge the timber.

Marlon Samuels had a history of coming good in crunch matches and for a while, it looked he was getting into the groove. Samuels welcomed Khaleel Ahmed by launching him over long-on for a six and then picking him over mid-wicket for a four.

However, Jadeja who had started with a maiden against Samuels (24) got the better of the veteran the next over with a ball that gripped and turned. Samuels' half-hearted poke landed safely in the hands of skipper Kohli at extra cover.

Shimron Hetmyer, already a hit among locals because of his swashbuckling batting style, was greeted with huge cheers. But Jadeja trapped him in front for nine. The umpire did not give it initially but on review, India got their man.

From then on, the batting was inexplicable at best. Rovman Powell (16) pulled Khaleel straight to deep-square leg. Fabian Allen (4) top-edged a hook off Bumrah to fine-leg. Captain Holder (25), solid till then, attempted to loft Khaleel over mid-off and perished to Jadhav again, at mid-off. Any hope of a West Indies revival was over once Holder was gone as the seventh wicket.

Keemo Paul (5) and Kemar Roach (5) also could not control the adrenaline rush and were holed out in deep. Jadeja completed the formalities dismissing Oshane Thomas (0) leg-before for his fourth.

Shikhar Dhawan had the chance to get a decent hit but Oshane Thomas cramped him for room as the left-hander dragged the ball back on to his stumps, attempting a cut. But fittingly, the most prolific Indian batsmen of this series, Rohit Sharma (63 no) and Virat Kohli (33 no) finished off the chase without further hiccups.

Injured Nurse out of tour

West Indies off-spinner Ashley Nurse has been ruled out of the rest of the India tour with a pectoral muscle injury. Nurse, who was the Man of the Match in the visitors' only win of the tour in the third ODI in Pune, injured his shoulder during the previous match in Mumbai and was forced to sit out of the final game here on Thursday. Leg-spinner Devendra Bishoo came into the Windies eleven in place of Nurse. Nurse will miss the three T20 matches also starting Sunday.

NEW DELHI: A ruthless India completed a nine-wicket demolition of the West Indies in the fifth and final ODI on Thursday for their sixth successive series win at home.

Left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja took four wickets to help India bundle out the West Indies for 104 in just 31.5 overs. Pacers Khaleel Ahmed and Jasprit Bumrah chipped in with two wickets each.

The home team took just 14.5 overs to reach the paltry target, courtesy an unbeaten 99-run stand between Rohit Sharma (62 off 54) and captain Virat Kohli (33 off 29), following another low score from Shikhar Dhawan.

It was a complete surrender from the West Indies, who let themselves down after competing hard in the first three ODIs. The previous game at Mumbai too was dominated by the hosts before they romped to a 3-1 series win here.

India last a lost a series at home in 2015, when they went down 2-3 against South Africa.

The hosts wasted in no time completing the 105-run target after the bowlers laid the foundation of a massive victory.

Rohit continued his fine form, notching up a half-century, in the process going past the 1,000-run mark for the calendar year 2018 and also hitting his 200th six in ODIs.

The India vice-captain had a lucky escape when he was caught behind by Shai Hope off Oshane Thomas' bowling on 18. He made most of that reprieve as he hit five boundaries and struck five imperious sixes. Kohli too was solid at the other end and his innings comprised six fours.

Dhawan's soft dismissal would probably be one of the lows for India as he chopped on a delivery from Thomas, who worked up good pace but was inconsistent with his line and length.

Earlier, the West Indies 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.

MUMBAI: India embarrassed the West Indies by 224 runs in the fourth One-day International on Monday for one of their biggest wins and a 2-1 lead in the five-match series.

Scorecard | Blog

Rohit Sharma (162) and Ambati Rayudu (100) struck belligerent centuries to guide India to an imposing 377 for five after the hosts opted to bat.

The duo took centre stage after a rare failure by skipper Virat Kohli.

Rohit's 21st century came off 137 balls with the help of 20 fours and four hits over the fence, while Rayudu decorated his 100-run knock with eight boundaries and four sixes.

Chasing 378, West Indies simply caved in against India's clinical bowling attack on what was a batting-friendly wicket to be bundled out for a paltry 153 in 36.2 overs.

Young pacer Khaleel Ahmed (3/13) impressed upfront before chinaman Kuldeep Yadav (3/42)) ran through the West Indies' tail.

The Indians dished out an impressive effort on the field, inflicting two run outs besides Rohit holding onto three fine catches in the slips.

This is India's third biggest win in the format. Their biggest-ever win in ODI remains the 257-run demolition of Bermuda in the 2007 ICC World Cup.

West Indies' chase never really got going as they lost half of their side inside the 50-run mark with Khaleel doing the bulk of the damage.

Except for skipper Jason Holder (54 not out), no other West Indian batsmen could withstand the Indian attack, as the visitors lost wickets at regular intervals and were never really in the hunt.

West Indies lost two wickets - Chandrapul Hemraj (14) and Shai Hope (0) - in the fifth over. While Hemraj gave a sitter to Rayadu off Bhuvaneshwar Kumar, Hope was run out courtesy a stunning direct hit by Kuldeep from mid-on.

Matters became worse for the visitors after Kieran Powell (4) was run-out in the very next over by Kohli.

Wickets kept tumbling and the next to be dismissed was Shimron Hetymar (13), who was trapped in front by Ahmed in the 10th over, even though the batsman went for an unsuccessful review.

The 20-year-old Ahmed was on fire as he picked up two more wickets in quick succession. He first cleaned up Rovman Powell (1) and then accounted for Samuels, who edged one to Rohit in the first slip.

Batting first, India made a quick start with Rohit and Shikhar Dhawan (38) and added a run-a-ball 71 for the opening stand before the latter pulled a Keemo Paul short delivery straight to Powell at the midwicket boundary.

Kohli, who hit three consecutive tons before Monday's match, played aggressively for his 16 before edging a Kemar Roach delivery to Hope behind the stumps.

Rohit and Rayudu held fort and continued to play aggressive brand of cricket.

The duo continued the onslaught and made the West Indies attack look ordinary, picking up boundaries and sixes at will.

After Kohli's dismissal, Rohit, who had scored a match-winning unbeaten 152 in the lung-opener at Guhawati, and Rayudu built the innings and in the process shared a breezy 211-run stand for the third wicket, which came off just 163 deliveries.

Rohit didn't spare a single West Indian bowler and made his intentions clear when he opened the account with a boundary over point.

The Mumbaikar initially played second fiddle to Dhawan but after his half century, that came off 60 balls, he upped the ante.

Rohit displayed all the shots in the book - the drives, pulls, flicks and cuts - before he departed in the 44th over.

Rayadu, on the other hand, took time to settle down, but then hammered the bowlers with his exquisite stroke-play - first in Rohit's company and then alongside veteran Mahendra Singh Dhoni (23).

Kedar Jadhav (16) and Ravindra Jadeja (7) remained unbeaten as the hosts amassed 116 runs in the last 10 overs.

India won the first ODI by eight wickets before the second game ended in a tie. West Indies bounced back to win the third ODI by 43 runs. The final match of the series will be played in Thiruvananthapuram on Thursday.

GUWAHATI: Skipper Virat Kohli and his deputy Rohit Sharma conjured up breathtaking centuries as India's ruthless domination over the West Indies continued with a facile eight-wicket win in the first One-day International, on Sunday.

Making mockery of what looked like a stiff 323-run target, the home team cantered to the win with 7.5 overs to spare, taking a 1-0 lead in the five-match series.

Kohli pounded the Caribbean bowlers with 21 fours and two sixes to raise his 36th ODI century and now needs just 81 runs to join the elite club of cricketers who have amassed 10,000 runs in the One-day format.

After early departure of Shikhar Dhawan (4), Kohli raised a massive 246-run stand for the second wicket with Rohit, who remained unbeaten on 152. It was Rohit's 20th ODI hundred which came off 117 balls with 15 fours and eight sixes.

While Kohli and Rohit plundered boundaries to entertain the packed stadium, it painted a sorry picture of the West Indies attack, which once was intimidating for any batting line up in the world.

The only high point for the West Indies while defending their total was 21-year-old newcomer Oshane Thomas' raw pace up front.

Playing his first ODI in more than three months, Kohli was unstoppable. It seemed another routine affair for Kohli as he also got past the milestone of 2000 International runs in the calendar year.

He emulated iconic Sachin Tendulkar in scoring 2000-plus runs in three successive years. After Kohli was stumped off leg-spinner Devendra Bishoo, India's vice captain took the side home in company of Ambati Rayudu (22).

After their rout in the Test series, West Indies did a good job by putting on board a challenging 322 for eight, capitalising on the absence of India's frontline pacers Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah.

The duo has been rested for the first two ODIs and the 21-year-old Shimron Hetmyer (106) put to sword an under-strength Indian attack to raise his third ODI hundred.

Hetmyer punished the Indian bowlers with six fours and as many sixes in his entertaining 78-ball knock.

However, any hopes of a close contest evaporated when Kohli and Rohit started striking the ball clean and hard.

The Indian bowling looked lacklustre while the fielding was shoddy as India, on a high after their Test series win, seemed to have underestimated their opponents.

The Guyanese lad brought up his half-century in 41 balls and brought up two 50-run plus partnerships with Rovman Powell (22) and skipper Jason Holder (38).

Hetmyer notched up his century by lofting Mohammed Shami for a six over extra cover. While he used brute force against the pace, Hetmyer also looked fluent against the spin duo of Yuzvendra Chahal and Ravindra Jadeja before being dismissed by the latter after immediately betting the milestone-mark.

Looking to redeem themselves after the 2-0 Test series thumping under six days, the touring side put up a strong challenge after being put in by home captain Virat Kohli.

Visiting skipper Jason Holder on the eve of the match had said 300-plus is the benchmark of ODI cricket and his young batters responded well with Devendra Bishoo taking the team past the milestone in the penultimate over.

Opener Kieran Powell set up the foundation with a 39-ball 51 (6x4, 2x6) in a 67-run stand for the second wicket with Shai Hope (32).

Powell and his debutant opening partner Chandrapaul Hemraj dealt in boundaries against Shami and Yadav.

West Indies lost three wickets in quick succession but the Guyana youngster came to take charge after Marlon Samuels departed for a duck in his landmark 200th ODI.

Live Blog | Scorecard | Target for India - 323

Overs 2: India 10/1 - OUT! Thomas strikes early to dismiss Dhawan (4)

Debutant Oshane Thomas struck in his first over itself as the fast bowler forced Shikhar Dhawan to drag the ball into his middle stump. Early blow for India

Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan began the India run chase. Kemar Roach with the ball for the Windies

Overs 50: West Indies 322/8 - India need 323 to win the series opener

After a brilliant century by Shimron Hetmyer - 106 off 78 balls, Devendra Bishoo 22* and Kemar Roach 26* added an unbeaten 44 runs to take the score over 300-run mark. Yuzvendra Chahal was the pick of India bowling attack, returning with figures of 3/41 in 10 overs. Opener Kieran Powell (51 off 39) also contributed handsomely with a quick-fire fifty.

Overs 48.4: West Indies 303/8 - 300 came up for West Indies. Devendra Bishoo 16* and Kemar Roach 15*

Overs 46: West Indies 287/8: Good over from Umesh Yadav, gave away just three singles in it.

* Good day with the ball for Yuzvendra Chahal - 3 for 41 in 10 overs

Overs 43.2: West Indies 278/8 - OUT! Chahal cleans up Holder for 38

Yuzvendra Chahal ended Windies skipper Jason Holder's good knock on 38, off 42 balls. Holder hit five boundaries, but his wicket will hamper the big finish the visitors must be hoping.

Overs 43: West Indies 277/7 - Jason Holder 38* and Devendra Bishoo 7* in the middle. 300 on the card?

Overs 41: West Indies 263/7 - Ravindra Jadeja first to complete his quota of 10 overs, returned with figures of 2/66

Overs 39.3: West Indies 252/7 - OUT! Yuzvendra Chahal dismisses Ashley Nurse (2)

Another bowling change, another wicket for India. Chahal trapped Nurse leg before for his second wicket of the match

Overs 38.4: West Indies 248/6 - OUT! Ravindra Jadeja strikes to dismiss Shimron Hetmyer

Shimron Hetmyer's brilliant innings ended soon after reaching the three-figure mark, finding Rishabh Pant near the boundary ropes. Hetmyer scored 106 off 78 balls and added quick sixty runs for the sixth wicket with captain Jason Holder.

Overs 37.5: West Indies 245/5 - HUNDRED for Hetmyer off 74 balls, his 3rd in ODIs

Shimron Hetmyer hit six sixes and equal numbers of fours to reach the landmark. Hetmyer also became the joint-fastest to 500 runs for West Indies in 13 innings.

Overs 37.3: West Indies 239/5 - Shimron Hetmyer, playing on 98*, is taking some medical attention in the middle for what looks like pain in his right shoulder.

Overs 35: West Indies 219/5 - Shimron Hetmyer 90* and Jason Holder 7* lead the charge as Windies look for a big total

Overs 32: West Indies 200/5 - Shimron Hetmyer 76* and Jason Holder 2* brought up 200 for the visitors with another big over, 10 runs off Umesh Yadav.

Overs 30.3: West Indies 188/5 - OUT! Jadeja cleans up Powell for 22

Another bowling change by Virat Kohli gave immediate result. Ravindra Jadeja clean bowled Rovman Powell to break the 74-run fifth wicket partnership. Powell hit four boundaries in his 23-ball innings.

Overs 30: West Indies 183/4 - Another big over for the visitors. 11 runs came off Umesh Yadav over. Shimron Hetmyer 61* and Rovman Powell 22*

Overs 27.4: West Indies 164/4 - Fifty-run partnership between Shimron Hetmyer 51* and Rovman Powell 17*

Overs 26.4: West Indies 158/4 - FIFTY for Shimron Hetmyer off 41 balls, his 2nd in ODIs.

Hetmyer hit three sixes and two fours to reach the milestone.

Overs 25: West Indies 150/4 - 150 came up for West Indies. Shimron Hetmyer 46* & Rovman Powell 8*

Overs 24: West Indies 143/4 - Shimron Hetmyer (41*) and Rovman Powell (6*) smacked 17 runs off Mohammed Shami as the duo smashed two fours and a six in the over.

Overs 21.4: West Indies 114/4 - OUT! Shami scalps Hope for his second wicket

Mohammed Shami came back to the attack and gave India their fourth breakthrough. Shai Hope, after a vigilant 32 off 51 balls, became second victim of India pacer. West Indies lost three wickets in fairly quick succession.

Overs 21: West Indies 112/3 - Shimron Hetmyer hit a six off Ravindra Jadeja as the Windies scored 10 in the over

Overs 19.4: West Indies 101/3 - Hundred came up for the visitors. Shai Hope 29* and Shimron Hetmyer 8*

Overs 15.3: West Indies 86/3 - OUT! Yuzvendra Chahal dismisses Marlon Samuels for a duck

Windies lost another wicket in quick time. Marlon Samuels, playing his 200th one-day international, out leg before wicket to Chahal. The batsman thought of going for a review but took too long to decide and umpire says the time was over for DRS. The post wicket review showed that it would have been a wasted review if Windies had taken it.

Overs 14.5: West Indies 84/2 - OUT! Khaleel Ahmed gets rid of Kieran Powell (51)

Kieran Powell miscued one to find Shikhar Dhawan at long-on boundary. Powell hit two sixes and six fours during his quick-fire 39-ball 51 knock and added 65 runs for the second wicket with Shai Hope.

Overs 13.1: West Indies 80/1 - FIFTY for Kieran Powell off 36 balls

Powell's 9th ODI half-century included two sixes and six fours as he lead the Windies innings with wicket-keeper batsman Shai Hope.

Overs 11.2: West Indies 69/1 - Fifty-run stand between Kieran Powell 41* and Shai Hope 17* for the second wicket

* Virat Kohli brings in a spinner - Yuzvendra Chahal replaces Umesh Yadav to bowl the 12th over.

Overs 10: West Indies 59/1 - End of first Powerplay. Kieran Powell lead Windies revival after the early wicket of debutabt Hemraj

Overs 9: West Indies 51/1 - Fifty came up for West Indies. Kieran Powell 33* and Shai Hope 8* scored 10 off Khaleel Ahmed's first over.

* Khaleel Ahmed came in to bowl his first over, the 9th of the innings. West Indies 41/1

Overs 7: West Indies 36/1 - SIX! Kieran Powell (24*) smacked Mohd Shami over long-off for first maximum of the match

Overs 4.3: West Indies 19/1 - OUT! Shami cleans up Hemraj for 9

Mohammed Shami gave India an early breakthrough as he clean bowled debutant Channdrapaul Hemraj in the fifth over. Hemraj had hit Shami for back-to-back fours in the bowler's previous over.

Overs 3: West Indies 13/0 - Debutant Chandrapaul Hemraj ended the over with back-to-back fours off Mohd Shami

Pant receives his ODI cap from Dhoni



Over 1: West Indies 4/0 - Kieran Powell started with a boundary off the first ball.

Here we go...Kieran Powell and debutant Chandrapaul Hemraj start the Windies innings. Mohammed Shami with the ball for India

TOSS | India won the toss and opted to bowl first against West Indies

TEAM NEWS: Rishabh Pant makes his ODI debut today. And for the visitors, Oshane Thomas and Chandrapaul Hemraj making their debuts

India (Playing XI): Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli(c), Ambati Rayudu, MS Dhoni(w), Rishabh Pant, Ravindra Jadeja, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Shami, K Khaleel Ahmed, Yuzvendra Chahal

Windies (Playing XI): Kieran Powell, Chandrapaul Hemraj, Shai Hope(w), Shimron Hetmyer, Marlon Samuels, Rovman Powell, Jason Holder(c), Ashley Nurse, Devendra Bishoo, Kemar Roach, Oshane Thomas

DUBAI: With their powerful batting and fast improving bowling, India are Asia's best hope at the World Cup which takes place in England next year.

Even without batting star and regular captain Virat Kohli, India powered their way to the Asia Cup title in Dubai, outlasting Bangladesh by three wickets off the last ball in the final.

"India proved to be well ahead of everyone," former Pakistan skipper Wasim told AFP.

"Their exposure is greater, they have financial benefits and the money invested in their system like the Indian Premier League is bearing fruits."

He added: "It's hard to predict eight months in advance but I am sure Pakistan will bounce back. They have some serious work to do in both bowling and batting. Bangladesh have an inspirational captain in Mashrafe Mortaza and Afghanistan is becoming a dangerous team."

Indian team celebrates after winning the Asia Cup in Dubai. (AFP Photo)

Bangladesh, led by Mortaza, fought hard to beat higher-ranked Pakistan and Sri Lanka, who both require some serious work ahead of the World Cup starting from May 30.

Fast-rising Afghanistan, who had to qualify for the World Cup, proved they will be a thorn for many teams with their wicket-taking spinners Rashid Khan and Mujeeb Ur Rahman and a never-say-die spirit.

Champions Trophy holders Pakistan had promised more at the Asia Cup but failed to deliver, unable to put up a fighting total as 162 and 237-7 could not challenge a powerful Indian batting line-up.

Head coach Mickey Arthur termed it a "confidence crisis."

"It's a confidence thing," said Arthur after two defeats against India. "These guys work every day on their catching, but the minute one goes down, it's kind of like a disease.

"We've got to trust the skills to come out in the end. We've banked the work. It's time for that to pay off."

While Rohit Sharma will continue to challenge Kohli as stand-in captain, Sri Lanka's Angelo Mathews was not only forced to step down but was also dropped from the squad for the forthcoming England one-day series.

Pakistan have since dropped pace spearhead Mohammad Amir who went wicketless in three Asia Cup matches.

He has yet to play a 50-over World Cup -- missing the 2011 and 2015 events due to a five-year ban for spot fixing on Pakistan's tour of England in 2010.

Afghanistan shocked Sri Lanka and Bangladesh in the first round at the Asia Cup.

Every time Afghanistan bat first and score 250-plus they will cause problems for the rivals through Rashid who on Sunday became the number one allrounder in one-day cricket besides being number two bowler in that format.

Afghanistan's best came against a depleted India -- resting Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Yuzvendra Chahal -- as they tied the game in the last over.

Only a three-run defeat off the last ball against Bagladesh deprived Afghanistan from a place in the final.

"We have sounded a warning for the World Cup teams," said Afghanistan captain Asghar Afghan. "We need to work in a few areas so we have time to do that before the World Cup."

DUBAI: Opener Rohit Sharma, who led his team to Asia Cup title in the absence of top-ranked Virat Kohli, on Sunday climbed two places up to a career-best second position to make it a 1-2 for India in the ICC ODI batting rankings.

READ ALSO: Rohit Sharma's captaincy helps India take assured steps towards 2019 World Cup

This is for the second time that Sharma is in second position, having first reached number two in July this year. He aggregated 317 runs in the tournament, which India won by beating Bangladesh in the final by three wickets.

Shikhar Dhawan, who was highest run-getter with 342 runs, gained four slots to reach fifth position.

The pair was rested in India's last Super Four match which ended in a tie against Afghanistan but still led the run aggregate, thanks largely to a 210-run partnership in the Super Four match against Pakistan in which Sharma slammed an unbeaten 111 and Dhawan scored 114.

Another India player to gain in the rankings table is spinner Kuldeep Yadav, who has advanced three places to take a career-best third position after finishing as the joint-highest wicket taker along with Bangladesh's fast bowler Mustafizur Rahman and Afghanistan leg-spinner Rashid Khan, all of who finished with 10 wickets each.

Rashid has displaced former Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan from the top of the all-rounders' list. He has become the first from his country and 32nd overall to reach top position in the list with a jump of six places.

Rashid's success with the ball saw him cross the 800-point mark during the tournament, which saw in action five of the 10 teams to fight it out in next year's ICC Cricket World Cup, and he also chipped in with 87 runs to reach a career-best 97th position among batsmen.

Afghanistan opener Mohammad Shahzad has gained 19 slots to reach 36th position, his highest in two years, while spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman has gained 15 slots to reach eighth position.

For Bangladesh, wicketkeeper-batsman Mushfiqur Rahim has attained a career-best 16th position, while Liton Das has advanced 107 positions to reach 116th rank after his fine century in the final. Mustafizur has moved up four places to take 12th position among bowlers.

Pakistan left-hander Imam-ul-Haq has gained 15 places to reach a career-best 27th position while Shoaib Malik has gained 12 slots to reach 42nd position. Junaid Khan has gained seven slots to reach 30th position among bowlers.

For Sri Lanka, Upul Tharanga has gained two positions to reach 41st rank while Hong Kong captain Anshuman Rath's knock of 73 against India has led him to 55th position with 532 points, the highest ever points tally for a Hong Kong batsman.

Rath's opening partner Nizakat Khan has gained 28 slots to reach a career-best 78th rank.

In the ICC ODI Team rankings, there is no change in positions in the list led by England, who are followed by India, New Zealand, South Africa, Pakistan, Australia, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and the West Indies.

However, India have gained one point and Afghanistan five. Pakistan and Sri Lanka have lost three points each.

NEW DELHI: Shikhar Dhawan was on Saturday dropped for the two-match Test series against West Indies after his horror run in England while Mayank Agarwal and Mohammed Siraj's domestic exploits were rewarded with maiden India call-up.

The selectors decided to rest the duo of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah, taking into account their "workload" in recent months, effectively thrusting upon Mohammed Shami the responsibility to lead the pace attack.

Dhawan had a forgettable outing during the Test series against England with just 162 runs in 8 innings. Mayank, on the other hand, was the top scorer in the last Ranji Trophy season with 1160 runs in 8 matches.

Mumbai's Prithvi Shaw has retained his place in the side after failing to make the playing XI in the last two Tests in England.

Considering that Dhawan has been shown the door, young Shaw could finally get his chance to open the batting with KL Rahul, who seemed to have saved his place with a fine knock in the final Test against England.

Mayank, who is also enjoying a good run of form, is another option for one of the opening slots. Both Mayank and Shaw had a good outing for India A in England earlier this summer.

"Taking stock of the recent workload, the selectors have decided to rest Jasprit Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Both Ishant Sharma and Hardik Pandya were not considered for selection, as they are yet to recover from their injuries," BCCI acting secretary Amitabh Choudhary said in a statement.

With this being the final assignment before the team embarks on the tour of Australia, Dhawan's chances for an imminent Test recall looks bleak. His Man of the Series winning effort in Asia Cup ODI tournament was not enough to save his place in the traditional format.

Karun Nair, who was not played in a single Test against England, also got the axe in a surprising move.

Hanuma Vihari, who made a battling half century on his debut at the Oval in the final Test, was preferred over Nair.

The other new face, pacer Siraj was picked after he performed for India A in the recently-concluded quadrangular series featuring Australia A and South Africa A. His exploits included brilliant figures of 8/59 in one of the games.

Murali Vijay, who has been in impressive form in county cricket for Essex after being dropped following a disastrous run in the first three Tests in England, failed to convince the selectors for a recall.

Pandya had to be stretchered off the field after suffering an acute lower back injury in India's game against Pakistan at the Asia Cup.

The spin responsibility will be shouldered by seasoned duo of Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and aided by Kuldeep Yadav.

The first Test will be played at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Rajkot from October 4 to 8, followed by the second match at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad from October 12 to 16.

The five-match ODI series will begin on October 21 at Guwahati, followed by the second ODI on October 24th at Indore and third ODI at Pune on October 27th. The final two one-dayers will be held at Mumbai and Thiruvananthapuram on October 29th and November 1, respectively.

The one-dayers will be followed by the three T20 Internationals to be held at Kolkata (November 4), Lucknow (November 6) and Chennai (November 11).

Squad: Virat Kohli (captain), KL Rahul, Prithvi Shaw, Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane (vice-captain), Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Shardul Thakur

SCORECARD | LIVE BLOG: India vs Bangladesh

INDIA INNINGS (Target: 223)

End of Over 30: India need 88 runs more to win in 20 overs with seven wickets standing. Sounds pretty one-sided, but two quick wickets and it can all change. 135/3

End of Over 28: Dhoni (27*) and Karthik (33*) have added 46 runs now to bring India's chase back on track. Should they manage to stay together for the next 10 overs, it should become easy for India. 129/3

End of Over 25: Mehidy Hasan returns to the attack and Dhoni (17*) dances down the track to smack it past the bowler for a boundary. 112/3

23.1 Overs: Dhoni muscles a half-volley through the covers for his first boundary, which raises India's hundred.

End of Over 21: Karthik (25*) releases the pressure as he makes the most of a rank long-hop from Nazmul Islam. Deposits it for a HUGE SIX over mid-wicket. 97/3

End of Over 20: Dhoni (3* off 10 balls) is taking his time to get his eye in, and Bangladesh mixing it well with an odd short ball to keep him guessing. 90/3



End of Over 18: MS Dhoni has joined Karthik (17*) in the middle as India wobble with the loss of Rohit's wicket. 85/3

16.4 Overs: BIG WICKET! Rubel gets his man - Rohit Sharma (48) pulls it straight to Nazmul Islam. India 83/3

End of Over 15: SIX! Rubel tries to bounce out Rohit (47*), but the India captain hooks the medium-pacer for a maximum over backward square leg. Huge mix-up, yes-no between the two Indian batsmen, but safe in the end as Liton Das throws at the wrong end. 79/2

End of Over 14: India 73/2. Karthik on 13*, Rohit 41*.

End of Over 12: Bangladesh bowlers have done well, which shows in the 4.3 overs Rohit (38*) and Karthik (7*) have taken to add 17 runs since India lost Dhawan. 63/2

End of Over 10: Karthik didn't look comfortable in that Mortaza over. The first Powerplay ends on an even note. India scored 57 runs, Bangladesh bowlers came back from a poor start to take two wickets.

8.3 overs: India's fifty comes up but the two wickets they have lost will make them think twice before continuing aggressively in this tricky run-chase.

7.3 overs: Mortaza strikes, removes Ambati Rayudu (2) caught behind. India have been pegged back after the brisk start. 46/2

End of Over 6: Dismissive! Rohit (27*) pulls Mustafizur for a SIX to end the over. The skipper is in a hurry. 43/1

4.4 overs: Dhawan throws his wicket away. After paddling Nazmul Islam for a boundary, he tries to clear mid-on but fails to do so. India 35/1



End of Over 4: Fourth boundary of the Indian innings and second off Dhawan's bat. The left-hander pierces the field with a square drive. 24/0

End of Over 2: Mustafizur Rahman begins from the other end and hits Dhawan on the pads with the one that seamed in sharply, but it was struck high and turned down. 12/0

End of Over 1: Bangladesh start with the part-time spin of Mehidy Hasan. So they have come out trying to surprise the in-form Indian openers, but Dhawan begins with cut in front of point for India's first boundary. And Rohit's neat clip off the pads gets him his first boundary as well. 10/0

BANGLADESH INNINGS (222 all out)

48.3 Over: All out! Bumrah castles last man Rubel for a duck to bring the curtains down on Bangladesh innings. What a comeback from India to bowl out the opposition for 222 from 120/0! Kuldeep Yadav took 3/45 and Kedar Jadhav 2/41 to help India come back. Das the top-scorer with 121 off 117 balls.



48.1 Overs: Third run-out of the innings. Soumya Sarkar (33) played a handy innings but failed to beat Rayudu-Dhoni combination while trying to steal a second run. 222/9

End of Over 48: Bangladesh 221/8 and are now looking to just play out the last 12 balls to bat their full quota of overs.

46.4 Overs: Another Bangladeshi batsman walks back. It was easy for Manish Pandey to just run in and remove the bails to send Nazmul Islam (7) back. 213/8.

End of Over 45: Bumrah is doing what he does the best, bowling full-length deliveries in death overs, not allowing anything to the batsmen to play with. BAN 202/7. Soumya Sarkar batting on 23 and Nazmul Islam on 1.

42.5 Overs: Mortaza smacks Kuldeep for a six over mid-wicket and loses his cool later in the over. Jumps out and completely misses the line while taking a wild swing. Dhoni gets another stumping, this time a simple one. 196/7

40.5 overs: Dhoni's swift glovework sends Liton Das back after a brilliant knock of 121. Yadav the wicket-taker. Bangladesh 186/6.



End of Over 40: Sarkar (18*) breaks a spell of ones and twos with a SIX over mid-wicket fence off Jadhav, as the Bangladesh innings enters death overs at 178/5.

End of Over 39: Looks like Bangladesh have rightly reassessed the target they had in mind and are now eyeing a late flourish to perhaps cross 250. They are 168/5 now with Liton batting on 109 and Soumya on 10.

End of Over 37: Liton (107* off 100) has slowed down and quite evidently making an effort to bat as deep as he can with the lower-middle order and tailenders to come. 165/5

Drinks Break - BAN 160/5 in 35 overs

End of 34 Overs: Das (106*) continues to hold one end together but it's a Catch-22 situation for him, with wickets continuing to fall at the other end that is now occupied by Soumya Sarkar (2*). 157/5

32.2 Overs: WICKET! Mahmudullah (6) too falls trying to be flamboyant and is taken brilliantly by Bumrah in the deep. 151/5


End of Over 30: From 120/0, Bangladesh lost four wickets in the next 19 runs, and are now 147/4, with Mahmudullah accompanying centurion Das.

28.4 Overs: Century for Liton Das in 87 balls. So he converts his maiden fifty to maiden hundred. Bangladesh 145/4.

End of 28 Overs: Run out! Bangladesh slip further as a brilliant stop by Jadeja results in a mix up leading to Mithun's (2) wicket.

End of 26.5 Overs: The golden arm of Jadhav strikes again as Bangladesh slip further after a brilliant stand. Mushfiqur holes out at deep mid-wicket to Bumrah, as Das (95*) looks on at the other end. 137/3

End of 25 Overs: Bangladesh 133/2 at halfway stage as Mushfiqur gets going with a boundary off Jadhav. Das batting on 92.

23.5 Overs: Another wicket! Umpire raises his finger to an LBW appeal against Kayes (2) facing Chahal. The batsman goes for a review. On-field decision upheld. BAN 128/2

End of Over 23: Das (91*) is into the nineties. Imrul Kayes (2*) partnering him now after the fall of Hasan. BAN 128/1.

20.5 OVERS: OUT! Kedar Jadhav once again proves to be man with the golden arm, as Hasan (32) tries to cut but couldn't keep it down. 120/1.

End of Over 20: It's raining boundaries off Das's (85*) bat now, and Jadeja is at the receiving end with two more boundaries in that over. 116/0

17.5 Overs: 100 up for Bangladesh with another boundary by Das (73*), who cuts Jadeja to the third-man fence. Hasan on 27*. BAN 102/0





End of Over 16: A pull from way back in his crease against Jadeja brings the seventh boundary for Das, as he and Hasan approach century opening stand.

End of Over 15: Kuldeep finishes his third over, but the Bangladesh openers are playing well, trying to sweep or paddle the Indian wrist spinner at every given opportunity. 86/0

End of Over 13: Hasan (19*) and Das (57*) have taken the total to 78/0.

End of Over 11: Fifty for Das with a boundary, off 33 balls, maiden half-century in ODIs, but off the next ball he miscues trying to sweep Jadeja. The skier, though, is dropped by Chahal who back-paddles to get under the ball but to no avail. BAN 74/0,

End of Over 10: Bhuvneshwar is back in the attack and bowls a good one, just a single off it. BAN 65/0 at the end of first Powerplay.



End of Over 8: Swept! SIX! Das (41*) is on a roll here as he takes on Chahal's leg-spin. That follows fifty for Bangladesh, and ANOTHER SIX by Das to end the over that leaked 16 runs. 58/0

End of Over 7: Boundaries continue to flow off Das's (28*) bat as he lifts Bumrah over mid-on for his fourth four. 42/0.

End of Over 5: Consecutive boundaries by Liton Das (22*) disturb Bhuvi's figures. Some superb timing on both the shots - first one a guide through square leg and the next a leg glance. 33/0

End of Over 4: A punch through the covers off Bumrah brings the second boundary for Mehidy Hasan. Bangladesh 25/0.

End of Over 3: Close run-out call for Mehidy but he survives. Bangladesh 13/0

End of Over 2: Mehidy hits first four of the match off Bumrah but not a confident one as the thick outside edge goes past a diving first slip. Bangladesh 8/0

End of Over 1: Good start by Bhuvi as he gives away just three runs from the over. Bangladesh 3/0

Mehidy Hasan and Liton Das are out in the middle to open Bangladesh innings while Bhuvneshwar Kumar with the ball

TOSS

Indian skipper Rohit Sharma wins toss, opts to field against Bangladesh in Dubai

India pick a full strength team for the title clash, bringing back Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Shikhar Dhawan and captain Rohit Sharma, who all were rested for the game against Afghanistan.

India (Playing XI): Rohit Sharma (c), Shikhar Dhawan, Ambati Rayudu, Dinesh Karthik, MS Dhoni (wk), Kedar Jadhav, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah

Nazmul Islam was picked in place of Mominul Haque in the Bangladesh playing eleven

Bangladesh (Playing XI): Liton Das(wk), Soumya Sarkar, Mohammad Mithun, Mushfiqur Rahim, Imrul Kayes, Mahmudullah, Mehidy Hasan, Mashrafe Mortaza(c), Nazmul Islam, Rubel Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman