In what turned out to be a nail biting game, India kept their cool in the end, to chase the West Indian total of 315 and win the series decider at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack. Kohli’s men not only won the series but kept safe their record of having not lost an ODI bilateral series at home against the Windies since 2002 and overall since their 1-4 defeat in 2006.
The ODI was also the last International game of not only the calendar year but also of the decade for Team India. Captain Kohli talked about India’s performance this year in the post-match presentation where he said that besides those 30-odd minutes against New Zealand in the World Cup semi-finals.
It was a very good year for Indian cricket where they won bilateral series in Australia [1-2] and New Zealand [1-4], followed by a good outing in the World Cup where they topped the group stage and winning back-to-back series win over the West Indies [0-3 & 1-2].
“It’s been one of the best years in Indian cricket and apart from that 30-minutes at the World Cup, its been a beautiful year. We will keep chasing the World Cup, we have that vision in place. Having a bunch of fast bowlers is a brilliant thing to have in Indian cricket and them taking the attention away from the spinners is a huge statement,” Kohli said in the post-match presentation ceremony.
The Indian captain added, “We have it in us to win series overseas and our pacers deserve it fully. We are in the process of trying to find how people react to pressure. It’s just about identifying those people and that’s something we will keep striving for,” he added.
India’s next major assignment is a T20I series against Sri Lanka away from home in January 2020, followed by the important tour of New Zealand.
