Kohli hits 42nd ton, Gayle sets record

Indian captain Virat Kohli ended a run of 10 matches without a century Sunday, setting the platform for his team’s 59-run (DLS) victory over the West Indies in a rain-hit second ODI at Queen’s Park Oval.

Kohli went a long way towards justifying his decision to bat first with a typically assertive innings of 120 off 125 deliveries, with 14 fours and four sixes adorning his 42nd ODI hundred as India totalled 279 for seven.

Set a revised target of 270 off 46 overs when rain interrupted play during their chase, West Indies were on course at 179 for four in the 35th over but then crashed to 210 all out with four overs to spare as seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar triggered the slide with figures of four for 31.

Kumar’s first wicket was near the start of the innings when he removed Chris Gayle, the hard-hitting opener falling for just 11 although it was enough to take him past Brian Lara for the most runs in ODI cricket by a West Indian, a record which now stands at 10,409.

It was also Gayle’s 300th ODI, making him the first West Indian to reach that landmark.