Port of Spain, Aug 15 (IANS) Chris Gayle's typically ballistic 72 off 41 balls and Nicholas Pooran's late charge in the third ODI against India helped West Indies post a total of 240/7 in their designated 35 overs in Port of Spain on Thursday.
In a rain-curtailed match, Gayle and opening partner Evin Lewis started slow with the first over bowled by Bhuvneshwar Kumar being maiden. Rain briefly interrupted proceedings in the second over that eventually went for 12 runs.
After the fourth over, Lewis and Gayle went after Bhuvneshwar, Mohammed Shami and Khaleel Ahmed to the point that the most economical between the sixth and 10th over was the seventh which produced 14 runs. West Indies raced to 114/0 in 10 overs. Lewis and Gayle struck a combined 8 sixes in this period, which is the most ever in an ODI batting first.
Lewis was dismissed in the 11th over and Gayle in the 12th but their stand set the template for West Indies' eventual total.A Gayle, whose jersey had the number 301 on its back as a nod towards the number of ODIs he has played, was congratulated by the Indian players and given a standing ovation by the crowd as he walked off in what could be his final ODI.
Shai Hope and Shimron Hetmyer were going steadily when rain forced a prolonged interruption. The match eventually started over three hours later as a 35-overs a side contest. Hetmyer and Hope's eventually crossed 50 before the former fell to Shami. Ravindra Jadeja then dismissed Hope in the next over but Nicholas Pooran then played a valuable cameo by smashing 30 runs in 16 balls.
Brief Scores: West Indies 240/7 (Chris Gayle 72, Evin Lewis 43; Khaleel Ahmed 3/68) in 35 overs vs India.
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