KL Rahul's 129 Powers India to 351/7 Against West Indies in Mullanpur ODI Decider

KL Rahul's career-best ODI hundred powered India to a formidable 351 for 7 against the West Indies in the third and final one-day international at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in Mullanpur on Saturday, as the hosts chased a series whitewash.

Electing to bat first in the day-night decider, India were rocked early — Shubman Gill and Virat Kohli fell cheaply — but Rahul's unbeaten 129 off 87 balls, featuring ten fours and six sixes, rescued the innings and then some. India plundered 105 runs in the last 60 balls to surge past 350.

Rahul leads the rescue act

Rohit Sharma and Ruturaj Gaikwad rebuilt after the early blows, the pair putting on 90 for the third wicket. Gaikwad, dropped around four times, made the most of his luck with a crucial half-century, while Rohit fell agonisingly short of a century, dismissed in the 90s.

Naman Dhir chipped in with a useful cameo, but it was Rahul who owned the evening. Coming in with the innings wobbling, he farmed the strike through the middle overs and exploded at the death, finishing 129 not out — his highest ODI score and the ninth hundred of his one-day career.

Series on the line

India have dominated the series, winning both previous games by eight wickets — chasing 295 at Thiruvananthapuram and 405 at Guwahati. A win at Mullanpur, in SAS Nagar district, would complete a 3-0 sweep and extend India's remarkable run in home ODIs.

West Indies were far from their best in the field, with several dropped catches proving costly — Gaikwad's reprieves among them — and they faced a record chase of 352 under lights when their innings began.

A Punjab stage

The Mullanpur venue — the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium at New Chandigarh — hosted the series decider in front of a packed home crowd, and the local flavour ran deeper: Punjab's own Gurnoor Brar was at the crease with Rahul at the end of the innings, unbeaten on 8 off 6.

The West Indies chase began under lights shortly after India's innings ended, with the visitors needing 352 — a target that would demand the highest successful chase of the tour. India went into the second half with the crowd behind them and the series already in the bag; the only question was whether the whitewash would be completed in emphatic fashion on a record-breaking batting night at Mullanpur.

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