India captain Virat Kohli (right) shakes hand with West Indies captain Kieron Pollard after winning the the third one day international (Dibyangshu SARKAR)
<p>New Delhi (AFP) – Virat Kohli declared it "a great year" for India cricket after ending 2019 on a high with a series-clinching win over the West Indies.</p><p>The India captain’s masterful 85 set up a successful 316-run chase on Sunday to win the third one-day international by four wickets and complete a 2-1 series triumph.</p><p>Kohli’s side end the year ranked number one in Tests and second in ODIs, with the only regret being a World Cup semi-final defeat to New Zealand at Old Trafford in July.</p><p>"Apart from the 30 minutes in the World Cup, it’s been a great year," Kohli said after his team’s win in Cuttack.</p><p>"We’ll keep chasing that ICC trophy. But apart from that, the way we’ve played has been satisfying."</p><p>India lead the new world Test championship table with three series sweeps away to the West Indies and at home against South Africa and Bangladesh.</p><p>Kohli ended the year with 1,377 runs in 26 ODIs, behind swashbuckling opener Rohit Sharma who topped the season’s batting chart with 1,490 runs including seven centuries.</p><p>But it was India’s fast bowlers who stood out with pace and control — even on spin-friendly Indian pitches.</p><p>Pace spearhead Mohammed Shami led the 2019 world wicket-taking charts with 42 in 21 ODIs. New Zealand’s Trent Boult was next with 38 scalps.</p><p>Kohli was full of praise for his quicks across all formats despite the recent absence of yorker specialist Jasprit Bumrah who has been unavailable due to a stress fracture of the back since September.</p><p>"Having a bunch of fast bowlers who can bowl out any opposition anywhere, them taking the attention away from the spinners in India is a huge achievement," said Kohli.</p><p>India will next host Sri Lanka for a three-match Twenty20 series starting January 5 followed by Australia for three ODI matches starting January 14.</p><p>India then tour New Zealand for five Twenty20 internationals, three ODIs and two Tests in January-February.</p><p></p>

Disclaimer: Validity of the above story is for 7 Days from original date of publishing. Source: AFP.