India just managed to hold off the challenge of an inspired West Indies team with the under-strength visitors coming away with a three-run victory in the first&nbsp;One-Day International of a three-match series at Queen's Park Oval in Trinidad on Friday.

Stand-in captain Shikhar&nbsp;Dhawan's 97 was the foundation of his side's total of 308 for seven which appeared to be more than enough at the halfway stage given that the hosts were just coming off a 3-0 drubbing at the hands of Bangladesh in Guyana a week earlier.

However, opener Kyle Mayers set the tone for the Caribbean side's chase with a top-score of 75 and with the rest of the batting order making important contributions the West Indies reached the final over needing 15 runs for victory.

Romario Shepherd, playing only because former captain Jason Holder was ruled out with Covid 19 in the morning, and Akeal Hosein managed to scramble 11 against the bowling of seamer Mohammed Siraj as they finished agonisingly short at 305 for six.

Dhawan's innings off 99 balls with three sixes and ten fours earned him the "Man of the Match" award although the left-handed opener was not too pleased with his team's effort in the field.

"We had a few nerves obviously towards the end of the match and maybe we didn't stick to our plans as well as we should have because if we had done so, especially with a few runs given away on the leg-side, the game would have been over as a contest earlier,"&nbsp;Dhawan&nbsp;said after the match.

Put in on a sweltering morning, he saw opening partner Shubman Gill (64) play most of the shots early on in a stand of 119 off 18 overs. Shreyas Iyer stroked his way to 54 before becoming the second wicket for Gudakesh Motie.

Motie had earlier dismissed&nbsp;Dhawan&nbsp;via an excellent diving catch by Shamarh Brooks at backward-point as India lost momentum when ominously poised at 213 for one in the 34th over.

Motie and fellow left-arm spinner Hosein were the most economical of the West Indies bowlers although pacer Alzarri Joseph bolstered the home side's rearguard in the field with two important wickets.

"It's a bittersweet feeling," was West Indies captain Nicholas Pooran’s summary of the match. "We've been talking about batting 50 overs and we did it this time but came up short.

"Still, we really competed well against one of the best teams in the world and we need to keep on improving against this type of opposition if we want to get our ODI cricket back on track."

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India just managed to hold off the challenge of an inspired West Indies team with the under-strength visitors coming away with a three-run victory in the first One-Day International of a three-match series at Queen's Park Oval in Trinidad on Friday.

India just managed to hold off the challenge of an inspired West Indies team with the under-strength visitors coming away with a three-run victory in the first One-Day International of a three-match series at Queen's Park Oval in Trinidad on Friday. Stand-in captain Shikhar Dhawan's 97 was the foundation of his side's total of 308 for seven which appeared to be more than enough at the halfway stage given that the hosts were just coming off a 3-0 drubbing at the hands of Bangladesh in Guyana a week earlier. However, opener Kyle Mayers set the tone for the Caribbean side's chase with a top-score of 75 and with the rest of the batting order making important contributions the West Indies reached the final over needing 15 runs for victory. Romario Shepherd, playing only because former captain Jason Holder was ruled out with Covid 19 in the morning, and Akeal Hosein managed to scramble 11 against the bowling of seamer Mohammed Siraj as they finished agonisingly short at 305 for six. Dhawan's innings off 99 balls with three sixes and ten fours earned him the "Man of the Match" award although the left-handed opener was not too pleased with his team's effort in the field. "We had a few nerves obviously towards the end of the match and maybe we didn't stick to our plans as well as we should have because if we had done so, especially with a few runs given away on the leg-side, the game would have been over as a contest earlier," Dhawan said after the match. Put in on a sweltering morning, he saw opening partner Shubman Gill (64) play most of the shots early on in a stand of 119 off 18 overs. Shreyas Iyer stroked his way to 54 before becoming the second wicket for Gudakesh Motie. Motie had earlier dismissed Dhawan via an excellent diving catch by Shamarh Brooks at backward-point as India lost momentum when ominously poised at 213 for one in the 34th over. Motie and fellow left-arm spinner Hosein were the most economical of the West Indies bowlers although pacer Alzarri Joseph bolstered the home side's rearguard in the field with two important wickets. "It's a bittersweet feeling," was West Indies captain Nicholas Pooran’s summary of the match. "We've been talking about batting 50 overs and we did it this time but came up short. "Still, we really competed well against one of the best teams in the world and we need to keep on improving against this type of opposition if we want to get our ODI cricket back on track." WATCH WION LIVE HERE You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.

India beat West Indies by 3 runs in first ODI

India skipper Virat Kohli's brilliant century helped his team defeat West Indies by six wickets (DLS method) in the third ODI here on Wednesday.

With this victory, India won the three-match ODI series by 2-0 after the first ODI got abandoned due to rain.

Chasing a target of 255 runs, both the India openers, Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan, started smashing boundaries. They scored 21 runs from the first two overs. However, in the next over, due to lack of coordination, Sharma (10) was run out.

Skipper Virat Kohli then came out to bat and played steadily along with Dhawan. Both kept the scoreboard running and formed a 66-run partnership.

Fabian Allen bowled the 13th over and took the wicket of Dhawan (36) and sent the next batsman, Rishabh Pant, back to the pavilion on a duck.

Shreyas Iyer then accompanied Kohli on the field. Due to the fall of wickets, both avoided risky shots and played cautiously. Both Kohli and Iyer scored their respective half-centuries and formed an impeccable 120-run partnership to put India on a dominating position.

Kemar Roach provided West Indies with a crucial breakthrough as he got hold of Iyer (65) in the 29th over. Kedar Jadhav then took the field to join skipper on the field.

Kohli continued his form and completed his 43rd ODI century. Kohli played an unbeaten knock of 114 runs to take India over the line and India won the match by six wickets.

Earlier, after opting to bat first, West Indies had a brilliant start as both the openers Chris Gayle and Evin Lewis struck regular boundaries.

Although the match was interrupted by the rain in the second over, both the openers did not stop hammering boundaries and sixes as soon as the match was resumed. Indian pacer Mohammed Shami conceded 18 runs in the sixth over as Gayle smashed three boundaries and one six.

Gayle scored his half-century off just 30 balls. However, Lewis missed his half-century by seven runs as he gave away an easy catch to Dhawan off Yuzvendra Chahal's delivery. Lewis` dismissal, in the 11th over, ended his 115-run partnership with Gayle.

In the very next over, Gayle (72) too was sent back to the pavilion by Khaleel Ahmed as Virat Kohli caught a sharp catch at mid-off.

Shai Hope and Shimron Hetmyer took the field and played cautiously to take their side over the 150-run mark.&nbsp;

However, after the 22 overs, the match was again interrupted by the rain when West Indies were at 158/2.

After a long wait, the match was continued but was reduced to 35 overs per inning.

India made a solid comeback in the match as both Hope and Hetmyer were dismissed quickly after the match resumed. Shami got hold of Hetymer (25) in the 25th over while Hope (24) became a victim of Ravindra Jadeja in the next over.

Jason Holder and Nicholas Pooran then took the charge but their partnership also did not last long as the latter was sent back to the pavilion by Shami in the 31st over. Pooran was playing furiously as he scored 30 runs off just 16 balls.

After Pooran`s dismissal, Carlos Brathwaite came out to bat. However, fall of wickets did not stop as skipper Holder (14) too got out, caught by Kohli off Ahmed's ball. Fabian Allen was the next batsman.

In the last over, Brathwaite smashed a six and a four before losing his wicket to Ahmed. Allen then hit a four on the last delivery of the inning to take his side to a respectable total of 240 runs. However, as the match was reduced to 35 overs due to rain, the DLS came in to play and target for India was 255 runs.

India will now compete against West for the first Test match starting from August 22.

Brief scores: India 256/4 (Virat Kohli 114*, Shreyas Iyer 65, Fabian Allen 2-40) defeated West Indies 240/7 (Chris Gayle 72, Evin Lewis 43, Khaleel Ahmed 3-68) by six wickets.

India skipper Virat Kohli's brilliant century helped his team defeat West Indies by six wickets (DLS method) in the third ODI here on Wednesday. With this victory, India won the three-match ODI series by 2-0 after the first ODI got abandoned due to rain.

India skipper Virat Kohli's brilliant century helped his team defeat West Indies by six wickets (DLS method) in the third ODI here on Wednesday. With this victory, India won the three-match ODI series by 2-0 after the first ODI got abandoned due to rain. Chasing a target of 255 runs, both the India openers, Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan, started smashing boundaries. They scored 21 runs from the first two overs. However, in the next over, due to lack of coordination, Sharma (10) was run out. Skipper Virat Kohli then came out to bat and played steadily along with Dhawan. Both kept the scoreboard running and formed a 66-run partnership. Fabian Allen bowled the 13th over and took the wicket of Dhawan (36) and sent the next batsman, Rishabh Pant, back to the pavilion on a duck. Shreyas Iyer then accompanied Kohli on the field. Due to the fall of wickets, both avoided risky shots and played cautiously. Both Kohli and Iyer scored their respective half-centuries and formed an impeccable 120-run partnership to put India on a dominating position. Kemar Roach provided West Indies with a crucial breakthrough as he got hold of Iyer (65) in the 29th over. Kedar Jadhav then took the field to join skipper on the field. Kohli continued his form and completed his 43rd ODI century. Kohli played an unbeaten knock of 114 runs to take India over the line and India won the match by six wickets. Earlier, after opting to bat first, West Indies had a brilliant start as both the openers Chris Gayle and Evin Lewis struck regular boundaries. Although the match was interrupted by the rain in the second over, both the openers did not stop hammering boundaries and sixes as soon as the match was resumed. Indian pacer Mohammed Shami conceded 18 runs in the sixth over as Gayle smashed three boundaries and one six. Gayle scored his half-century off just 30 balls. However, Lewis missed his half-century by seven runs as he gave away an easy catch to Dhawan off Yuzvendra Chahal's delivery. Lewis` dismissal, in the 11th over, ended his 115-run partnership with Gayle. In the very next over, Gayle (72) too was sent back to the pavilion by Khaleel Ahmed as Virat Kohli caught a sharp catch at mid-off. Shai Hope and Shimron Hetmyer took the field and played cautiously to take their side over the 150-run mark. However, after the 22 overs, the match was again interrupted by the rain when West Indies were at 158/2. After a long wait, the match was continued but was reduced to 35 overs per inning. India made a solid comeback in the match as both Hope and Hetmyer were dismissed quickly after the match resumed. Shami got hold of Hetymer (25) in the 25th over while Hope (24) became a victim of Ravindra Jadeja in the next over. Jason Holder and Nicholas Pooran then took the charge but their partnership also did not last long as the latter was sent back to the pavilion by Shami in the 31st over. Pooran was playing furiously as he scored 30 runs off just 16 balls. After Pooran`s dismissal, Carlos Brathwaite came out to bat. However, fall of wickets did not stop as skipper Holder (14) too got out, caught by Kohli off Ahmed's ball. Fabian Allen was the next batsman. In the last over, Brathwaite smashed a six and a four before losing his wicket to Ahmed. Allen then hit a four on the last delivery of the inning to take his side to a respectable total of 240 runs. However, as the match was reduced to 35 overs due to rain, the DLS came in to play and target for India was 255 runs. India will now compete against West for the first Test match starting from August 22. Brief scores: India 256/4 (Virat Kohli 114*, Shreyas Iyer 65, Fabian Allen 2-40) defeated West Indies 240/7 (Chris Gayle 72, Evin Lewis 43, Khaleel Ahmed 3-68) by six wickets.

India-West Indies 3rd ODI: Virat Kohli’s ton helps India seal ODI series

India rides high on confidence to Australia after trumping West Indies, says skipper