PHOTOS: Dhawan hits fifth ODI century as India win West Indies series

Shikhar Dhawan blasted a quickfire century as India outclassed the West Indies by five wickets in the third One-Day International, in Kanpur, on Wednesday.

- Scorecard

The left-hander slammed 119 from 95 balls, hitting as many 20 boundaries, to help India win the series 2-1.

Dhawan laid the foundation for India's easy victory as he put on 129 runs for the third wicket with Yuvraj Singh, who returned to form with a fighting half-century.

India cruised to 266 for 5 in 46.1 overs, after the West Indies had posted 263 for 5 after being sent in to bat.

After being asked to bat first, the West Indies were off to a cautious start, before losing Johnson Charles for 11.

Charles got off the mark with a cracking boundary through the off side off Bhuvneshwar Kumar.

Bhuvneshwar, however, came up with a perfect reply, castling Charles for 11 with an incoming delivery.

Kieran Powell, who has been in good form throughout the tour, steadied the West Indies innings after the loss of Charles's early wicket.

Having scored a vital 59 in the second ODI, he registered another half-century, hitting a fluent 70 from 81 balls.

He got good support from Marlon Samuels at the other end as the duo put on 117 runs for the second wicket.

Samuels was under pressure. Without any significant contribution in the Test series and the last two ODIs, the West Indies No 3 finally came good.

He was severe on off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, smoking him for maximum and a boundary in his first over.

Samuels stroked 71 from 93 balls before he was bowled by Ashwin.

Ashwin restricted the Windies as he claimed the wickets of both Powell and Samuels.

Darren Bravo (51 not out) and Darren Sammy (37 not out) attacked the bowlers in the final overs, scoring 43 runs in the final three, to lift West Indies to a competitive 263 for 5.

Dhawan rallied India with his attacking batting after the early dismissal of Rohit Sharma, who was caught at first slip for four in the fifth over.

The left-hander got going with three boundaries off Jason Holder in the second over of the innings. He adopted a positive approach right from the start and raced to his half-century from 43 balls.

Yuvraj Singh struggled at the start of his innings before settling down to play a fine knock of 55.

The left-hander took time to get going before playing a few cracking shots to bring up his 50 from 68 balls.

He put on 129 runs for the third wicket with Dhawan to put India in control before was caught at first slip off Sunil Narine, who caused him a lot of problems.

Dhawan continued his impressive run in 2013 as he registered his fifth ODI century of the year.

The left-hander brought up his hundred from 73 balls, hitting 18 boundaries, as he punished all the West Indies bowlers.

He scored 119 from 95 balls before he was caught and bowled by Dwayne Bravo, in the 38th over of the innings.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who was unbeaten on 23 from as many balls, scored the winning runs, hitting Lendl Simmons for a boundary through the off-side, in the 47th over.

India won the match by five wickets with 23 balls to spare and clinched the series 2-1.

This was India's sixth successive ODI series triumph in 2013, including the ICC Champions Trophy.