Akshar Patel hit half century India An unassailable 2-0 lead over West Indies in the three-match series. The Men in Blue beat Windies by 2 wickets in another nail-biting finisher at Queens Park Oval, Port of Spain, Trinidad. Axar remained unbeaten on 64 and completed the task for India on his own when the other batsmen failed to close the game. Patel scored his maiden ODI fifty in 27 balls and took the game away from West Indies in the slog overs.
The hosts dominated most of the game, but Patel, who had come to bat at number seven, blew them away with his brutal knock. India needed 8 runs in the last over and the southpaw hit a six off the fourth ball to seal the game with two balls to spare for India.
India vs West Indies 2nd ODI Match Highlights
Patel’s 35-ball knock, with the help of five sixes and three fours, showed his batting credentials under pressure.
Apart from Patel, Shreyas Iyer (63) and Sanju Samson (54) also played crucial innings for India but were dismissed at crucial stages, which dragged West Indies back into the game. However, the 28-year-old stole the show which helped India win another ODI series in the West Indies.
India got off to a strong start with a partnership of 48 runs between Shubman Gill and skipper Shikhar Dhawan. Rain halted the game for a few minutes, breaking the momentum and Dhawan was dismissed for 13 runs after the break. Gill once again looked fluent during his stay in the middle. He scored 43 runs but got out in a tragic manner. He tried to play a ramp shot against Kyle Meyers but the ball hit the thumb end of the bat and went back to the bowlers who took easy catches. The 22-year-old was dismissed for 43.
Suryakumar Yadav also failed to score big and was dismissed for 9. Things were not going well for them when Shreyas and Samson put on a crucial 99-run partnership to resume India’s chase. Deepak Hooda also scored 33 runs as he shared a 51-run partnership with Axar. Debutant Avesh Khan also contributed 11 runs at the crucial stage.
Read also | IND vs WI: Shreyas Iyer took the catch of Rovman Powell, then made a gesture on the crowd. watch
Meanwhile, Shai Hope’s century in their 100th ODI went in vain as the game slipped from the hands of the Windies in the last 10 overs.
Earlier, Hope showed her class with a scintillating century while skipper Nicholas Pooran hit a six as West Indies posted a solid batting performance to post 311 for six.
Hope built up his innings of 115 runs well, focused on building partnerships and exploded in the end. His innings of 135 balls included eight fours and three sixes. While Pooran scored 74 runs in 77 balls with the help of six sixes and a four.
Patel (1/40) and Hooda (1/42) were the best bowlers, while Yuzvendra Chahal (1/69) also took a wicket but was expensive.
Mohammad Siraj (0/47) was decent but Avesh’s ODI debut was forgettable, while Shardul Thakur (3/54) made amends at the back-end with three for 13 in the first over.
Brief Scores:
West Indies 311-6 (S. Hope 115, N. Pooran 74, K. Meyers 39; Shardul Thakur 3-54) vs India 312-8 in 49.4 overs (A. Patel No. 64, S. Iyer 63, S. Samson 54; A. Joseph 2- 46, K. Meyers 2-48)
get all the latest cricket news, Schedule And cricket live score Here