IND VS WI - 3rd ODI, West Indies tour of India, 2019

Right then, it's 4-2 (overall scoreline) India as Kohli adds another trophy to his cabinet. Barring a couple of games, its been a bat v bat contest between these two sides the last couple of weeks. If anything, it helped a couple of Windies players bag 'handsome' IPL contracts claiming their own moment of merry by peaking just at the right time. As the saying goes, It's all about timing, isn't it? And on that timely note, we pull curtains on West Indies tour of India 2019. There's plenty of cricketing action going on and keep hugging this space for all the latest in the game. Until next time, this is Raju Peethala wishing you all a merry Christmas on behalf of Pradeep Krishnamurthy, Kumar Abhisekh Das (the Barabati boy), Sagar Chawla and the ever-vigilant scoring buff Venky. Adios!!

Kohli receives the trophy and as ever, he hands it over to the latest entrant in the Indian dressing room - Navdeep Saini. All smiles in the Indian camp as they pose for the cameras and the champions hoarding does only as much justice to the success this team enjoyed the last 12 months.

Virat Kohli, Indian skipper and the recipient of the Player of the Match award: Having done it so many times you obviously have bit more calmness about it, all you need is a mini partnership and the opposition will start to crumble. Shardul and Jaddu finishing is very good to see, these guys finishing the game is a much bigger thing. I had a nervous look when I walked back, but when I watched Jaddu he looked very confident. 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. 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.

Rohit Sharma, Player of the Series: It was a decider and we wanted to win this game and especially here in Cuttack, it's a good batting track. It was a little sad that I couldn't bat longer, but then Rahul and Kohli batted well and I quite enjoyed that Shardul pull shot, it was much needed at that point. Extremely grateful for the year I had, the World Cup win would have been nice. The team gelled together collectively well and every individual stepped up which is a good sign. There is no way I'm stopping here and there's an exciting year coming up and I'm looking forward to it. I understand my batting really well and knowing the game plan you want to execute is very, very important. The challenge will come once we start travelling, we want to win games and want to stay on top.

Kieron Pollard, West Indies skipper: I don't think there is much to be disappointed actually. I'm very very proud of the guys and yes we faltered a bit with the ball and in the field, but India yet again pushed us hard and showed why there are the number one team in the world. Lots of exciting talent in our team and we all know what they are capable of. Hetmyer had a good couple of knocks, Pooran and his superb ball striking, Hope and his consistency and the salute guy Cottrell, I believe there is lot to look forward in the future. For me it's trying to contribute when its necessary and its been a good series for both teams.

Jai Soni: The score of India should be 317/6. Counting the run batsmen took and the no-ball extra. 'No, the no-ball is considered as the first event and the match is over at that stage, hence the run isn't considered'

Swaroop Veesam: Though WI lost today, they have shown some great fight and spirit but lack of enough experience under pressure led to their downfall. Nevertheless this series has been one of the best T20 and ODI series between these two teams

Manan Sawhney: I feel India have found Pandya's finishing partner in Jaddu. Good duo at 6 and 7. Jaddu handles pressure well, has a wide variety of shots and great match awareness.

Deepu Narayanan firing on all cylinders with his numbers game. So, munch on them as we await the presentations.

Virat Kohli in 300+ ODI run chases:
31 innings
1743 runs
Avg 62.25
SR 107.13
9 X 100s
6 X 50s
HS 183 (vs Pak, Mirpur, 2012)

This is India's tenth successive bilateral series (2+ ODIs) win against West Indies - going past the current run of nine series wins against Sri Lanka, starting from 2005.

Most successful 300+ chases in ODIs:
17 India *
11 England
10 Australia/ Sri Lanka
06 South Africa/ Pakistan

Ravindra Jadeja - I was only thinking that the wicket is nice and the ball is coming to the bat. 'Just try to bat properly, don't play silly shots, look to time the ball' - his advice to Shardul. There was a bit of pressure, I hadn't batted a lot in the series, but here I was under pressure to win a game. Virat just asked me to play my natural game. The score was reflecting on the scene, so I knew the situation well.

Shardul Thakur: If I would think about Kohli getting out, I would be under pressure. But the important thing was that there was a set batsman.  The whole idea was to meet the ball. It was one of those days when I could connect well and luckily it came off. I know I have the talent to bat. If I can contribute these 20-25 runs when the team needs me, I would be glad. Going ahead, I would want to practice more. I would be more than glad to contribute with the bat.

21:41 local: Just the perfect exhibition of a decider and both teams have done great justice to this game by giving it all throughout the course of this near 100-over contest. It had everything, almost like a well-directed movie script. First up, Rohit and Rahul set up the chase with fluent fifties and just when it gave an impression of a 'cakewalk' chase, wickets started to tumble at untimely intervals to crack the game wide open for both teams. India had the belief until Kohli stayed in, but his departure at the start of 47th over sent a bit of a tremor among the fans which fizzled out in a matter of seconds. Reason? A 28-year old Mumbai lad - Shardul Narendra Thakur. He walked in after having a chat with Kohli and superimposed the Indian skipper's aggro with a lovely cameo at the end to wrap things alongside the ever-impressive Ravindra Jadeja, who deserves a lot of credit for his variety of roles in the game. He just nails it most times and this game should do his batting confidence a world of good, one would believe. No early wickets, freebies aplenty, lack of control from the spinners can all be cliched as factors for West Indies' loss, but in fairness they lost the game with the bat. A bit more aggressive approach at the top would have helped, but wasn't to be.

Keemo Paul to Jadeja, no ball, India seal the series 2-1. Thanks to a front foot no ball from Keemo Paul who negated all the drama that unfolded after the delivery. Jadeja flicks this wide of mid-wicket and there's a direct hit at the batting end, Shardul steams in and drags his bat well inside the crease but the run wouldn't count as the telly umpire spots the blip on replay. He was asked to check for a run-out, but killed the game with a single term 'it's a front foot no ball'

Keemo Paul to Jadeja, no run, full on middle and leg, hit firmly to mid-on but Jadeja says no for the single

Keemo Paul to Jadeja, 2 runs, skiddy full delivery outside off, Jadeja forces the drive through cover and they collect a couple of easy runs to make the scores level

Keemo Paul to Jadeja, FOUR, short and down leg, Jadeja gets enough contact on the swivel-pull and that's it, the crowd feel India have got this...

Keemo Paul to Jadeja, no run, the crowd go from yayyyyy to ohhhhhh in a matter of seconds and Shardul Thakur yet again is the reason for that. This was full and just outside off, Jadeja drills it straight to mid-off and Shardul rushes in to the batting end without consulting his partner, had to abort midway and this is where the drama starts...Shardul trips over and falls awkwardly but the fielder at mid-off too fumbles allowing Thakur enough time to get back inside the crease

Soumyadarshan Panda: Shardul wants to be the all-rounder for CSK. MS, are you watching?

India just a couple of hits away now. The mobile flashscreens are in full effect in Barabati...

Cottrell to Jadeja, 1 run, short and angling in at the body, Jadeja jumps on his back foot and powers the pull to deep mid-wicket

Cottrell to SN Thakur, 1 run, full on middle and leg, slogged away through mid-wicket