You know Rohit Sharma is in the mood when, amid chants of “Rohit, Rohit” from his beloved fans of his home city, he dispatches the first ball of the match above point for a four. And when Rohit Sharma is in the mood, there is very little any opposition team can do, not least when the pitch is flat, the boundaries are short, and the ground is his backyard.
It didn’t matter that -- for a change -- Virat Kohli failed with the bat, or that the West Indies had run India close in Vizag and overtaken them in Pune. On Monday, it was all one-way traffic.
It took a majestic 162 from Sharma and a top class second-fiddle century from Ambati Rayudu for India to get back to winning ways, humiliating the visitors in the humidity of Mumbai by 224 runs in the fourth ODI at Brabourne Stadium.
Pursuing a mammoth 377/5, the Windies crumbled to 153 all out, a steep fall from the fight they gave India in the previous two matches as the hosts took a 2-1 lead with the last ODI to go on Thursday.
The writing was on the wall early in the chase itself, when the in-form Shai Hope and Kieran Powell suffered back-to-back run outs with brilliance in the field from Kuldeep Yadav and Kohli in the fifth and sixth over, respectively.
The only way then that the Windies wall could resist a complete collapse was if Shimron Hetmyer served up a special. But once he was trapped in front by Khaleel Ahmed in the 10th over, the last rites didn’t need much time, with the visitors lasting only 36.2 overs after Ahmed and Yadav picked up three wickets each.
It was a drab end to a match that began with a bang, Sharma setting the tone immediately with that first-ball hit after India opted to bat. Shikhar Dhawan wasn’t to be left too far behind too, flicking two deliveries off his legs over the boundary ropes before wasting another good start by smacking a short ball straight to short midwicket.
Law of averages finally proved its existence when Kohli poked at a ball by Kemar Roach just outside the off stump as India were reduced to 101/2 by the 17th over. But if those two wickets brought life back into the Windies, Sharma was quick to suck it out.
The India vice-captain took 60 balls to get to his fifty but changed gears soon after Kohli’s dismissal in a five-ball period that best showcased the opener’s heady mixture of power, touch and timing.
In the 27th over bowled by Rovman Powell, Sharma hit three fours, each of a different variety: a brute of a pull past midwicket, the deftest of touches past the wicketkeeper and the smartest of placements through the vacant square leg region. It was only a matter of time before Sharma brought up his 21st ODI ton, and fittingly, it came through a four past point.
In a middle-order seeped with instability, Sharma found a stable ally in Rayudu, who enacted the ideal No. 4 role: steadying the ship with Captain Sharma and then taking the lead in sailing it deep. He scored at less than run-a-ball for a major part of his 81-ball 100 but with Sharma racing away at the other end, it didn’t matter.
Every once in a while though, Rayudu would show his flair as well, like when he got down on one knee and deposited a Roach delivery over midwicket. Their third-wicket partnership surged, going from 100 to 200 in just 59 balls after it took the duo 99 balls to get to a ton.
Sharma reached his 150 -- and India their 300 -- in the 43rd over, and a few overs later, it was Rayudu’s turn to raise his arms towards his team-mates who acknowledged his third ODI century. Both perished after their respective landmarks, but the finishing touches from MS Dhoni and comeback man Kedar Jadhav meant there was little respite for the visitors even in the last few overs.
Brief Scores
India: 377 for 5 in 50 overs (Rohit Sharma 162, Ambati Rayudu 100; Kemar Roach 2/74).
West Indies: 153 all out in 36.2 overs. (J Holder 54 not out, M Samuels 18; K Ahmed 3/13, K Yadav 3/42).
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
 "Rohit Sharma walks back to the pavilion after his brilliant hundred on Monday")
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}