Cricket-West Indies deny India clean sweep as Hope scores unbeaten 162

Oct 3 (Reuters) - Shai Hope anchored the chase with an unbeaten 162 off 143 balls as West Indies prevented India from completing a series sweep with a five-wicket victory in the third and final one-day international in New Chandigarh on Saturday.

After the early loss of John Campbell in the fifth over, Hope combined with Amir Jangoo for a crucial 109-run stand to steady the innings, helping West Indies reach 78-1 at the end of the powerplay.

Jangoo struck his third ODI half-century before being run out for 67, while Sherfane Rutherford fell soon after for 24. Hope, however, maintained the momentum, adding another vital 56-run partnership to keep the chase on track.

Despite the dismissals of Keemo Paul and Matthew Forde, Hope remained in control of the chase. Gudakesh Motie contributed a brisk 19 off 14 balls, as West Indies sealed victory with 10 balls to spare.

India were forced to rebuild after slipping to 4-2, but Rohit Sharma and Ruturaj Gaikwad steadied the innings with a 137-run partnership. Sharma anchored the recovery with a fluent 92 off 85 balls before falling eight runs short of a century.

After Rohit's dismissal, KL Rahul made the most of his lone batting opportunity of the series, bringing up his ninth ODI hundred. Rahul accelerated sharply at the death, smashing 42 runs off the final 12 balls he faced to convert his century into a career-best ODI score. Gaikwad chipped in with a half-century before being dismissed by Jayden Seales.

With Rahul unbeaten on 129, India finished strongly through late cameos from Naman Dhir (30 off 21 balls) and Anshul Kamboj (17 off nine balls). Their contributions helped propel India to 351-7, with Rahul and Gurnoor Brar unbeaten at the crease.

The Shubman Gill-led side had already secured the series by winning the opening two ODIs. In the second match, India completed a record chase of 406 with 6.3 overs to spare to seal the series.