India surpass Pakistan for most consecutive ODI series wins

In the second of three ODIs in the Caribbean, India made light work of a target of 311, which had been carefully constructed by Nicholas Pooran (74) and Shai Hope (115)

India have surpassed Pakistan's record for consecutive ODI series wins against one opponent, after successfully chasing 311 against West Indies.

Skippered by Shikhar Dhawan, India registered their 12th bilateral ODI series win in a row against the Nicholas Pooran-led West Indies, beating the previous best of 11, achieved by Pakistan against Zimbabwe between 1996 and 2021.

In the second of three ODIs in the Caribbean, India made light work of a target of 311, which had been carefully constructed by Pooran (74) and Shai Hope (115).

^{Hope and Pooran came together to form a partnership off 117 (126) [Randy Brooks/AFP via Getty Images]}

Shardul Thakur was the pick of the bowlers as he collected the wickets of Rovman Powell, Hope and Pooran while contributing respectable figures of 3 for 54.

With the bat, it was a collective team effort to chase the total down. 

Top-order contributions from Shubman Gill (43) and Shreyas Iyer (63) set the foundations as the middle order in Sanju Samson (54), Deepak Hooda (33), and Axar Patel (64) pulled together to finish the chase for a team missing veterans Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli.

^{Shreyas Iyer and Samson formed a crucial partnership of 99 to help set the foundations for Axar's finish [Randy Brooks/AFP via Getty Images]}

^{Skipper Shikhar Dhawan leading the Indian side out onto the field [Randy Brooks/Getty Images]}

India's long run of ODI series triumphs over West Indies began in 2007, and shows no sign of coming to an end any time soon.

The pursuit of 311 in Trinidad was also India's highest successful run chase in the Caribbean, and the third across all nations, a fitting record to savour. They will look to seal a series clean sweep on July 27.

There was a silver lining for the West Indies, though. Hope's century, which came after a string of low scores at home, elevates him to the highest average for a West Indies cricketer in ODI cricket, in his 100th ODI.

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