Mahendra Singh Dhoni played a captain’s knock as India battled inclement weather to defeat the West Indies by six wickets via the Duckworth-Lewis method and take an unassailable 2-1 lead in the four-match ODI series at the Beausejour Stadium on Friday.

Needing 11 runs off the last over after the target was revised to 159 from 22 overs, Dhoni (46 not out) sent Jerome Taylor’s second delivery for a six over mid-wicket as India won with a ball to spare. The one-dayer witnessed as many as five stoppages due to rain during the West Indies innings — including a two-hour-and-five-minutes’ delay at the start of the match. The interruptions forced the overs to be brought down to 27 per side.

The West Indies, put into bat after Dhoni won the toss, rode on Ramnaresh Sarwan’s 62 to post a competitive 185 for seven and India were set a revised target of 195 following the D/L method.

The visitors needed a strong start and Dinesh Karthik (47 off 43 balls) and Gautam Gambhir (44 off 38) gave them just that. The duo put on 84 runs before a direct throw from Ravi Rampaul ended Karthik’s innings. Gambhir and Dhoni took the score to 95 for one off 13.3 overs when rain intervened for the fifth time and following a 22-minute delay, the target was revised to 159 in 22 overs.

Needing another 64 runs from 51 deliveries, India lost Gambhir and Yuvraj Singh (2) in quick succession. With 11 runs required off the last seven deliveries, Rohit Sharma also departed leaving Dhoni at the crease. The skipper’s 34-ball unbeaten knock included a couple of boundaries besides the six in the last over.

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