India vs West Indies 2nd ODI: Patel’s maiden ODI fifty, an unbeaten 35-ball 64, in the second game of the 3-match ODI series led India to win over West Indies to clinch the series 2-0 in the Queen’s Park Oval on Sunday. The Men in Blue beat Windies by 2 wickets in the nip and tuck finishing.
The hosts won the toss and decided to bat and set a challenging score of 312. In return, India was reduced to 205 for five in 38.4 overs but Patel revitalizes India’s pursuit with his six-hitting skills to send the guests home with 2 balls to spare.
Earlier, Shai Hope excelled in the game by scoring 65 runs with the team’s first-round starter Mayers (39) and a second 62-run stand with Shamarh Brooks (35). Hope then found his ideal partner Nicholas Pooran as the two enjoyed a 117-run stand.
In his 135-ball 115-run knock, Hope smashed 3 sixes and 8 fours. Hope played some beautiful offside shots and appeared to be in top form. In the 45th over, with a six, he reached the 300-run milestone in his 100th ODI match. But his century went in vain with losing the game.
With Hope’s century, Nicholas Pooran’s 74, Kyle Mayor’s 39, and Sharmarh Brook’s 35, the hosts maintained a dominant position for the majority time of the game.
In reply, Shubman Gill (43) looked sharp as he smashed five boundaries in his 49-ball innings. But captain Shikhar Dhawan (13) struggled at the other end. The skipper was the first to depart with an incredible catch of Mayers.
Mayers then quickly removed the other two, first getting rid of the well-positioned Gill and then Suryakumar Yadav (9), who dragged the ball to his stumps.
With a 99-run partnership of 94 balls, Shreyas Iyer (63) and Sanju Samson (54) attempted to extend the chase. But once they both had left the field, India still needed 105 runs from 11 overs despite their efforts.
It was all Axar Patel who took back the game despite losing Deepak Hooda (33) and Shardul Thakur (3) at the crucial hour. Patel came out to bat at number 7 but just blew the Windies away with his brutal knock. He showed his batting endowment with his 35-ball 64 knocks under pressure. India needed 8 runs off the last over and the 28-year-old finishes off the game by smashing a six on the 4th ball. His huge 5 sixes and 3 boundaries pull off a thriller in the last overs to lead India to seal the series and he became the player of the series.
Avesh Khan had an unforgettable ODI debut (0/54) as he made a valuable contribution of 11 runs at the crucial stage. Mohammed Siraj (0/47) also bowled well by keeping things tight in the opening spell. Shardul Thakur (3/54) made up for it at the tail end with three wickets.
Axar Patel (1/40) and Deepak Hooda (1/42) were the best bowlers for India but Yuzvendra Chahal (1/69) was too expensive even though he too scalped one. With Hope and Brooks slamming a six and a four, Chahal, who has just joined the attack was well outplayed in the 21st over. However, Dhawan brought back Patel and he produced a wicket to dismiss Brooks. Following some initial deliberation, Pooran used his feet to produce some powerful blows against Chahal. Later, Hope hit two sixes off Chahal to reach his century. 93 runs were scored by West Indies in the final 10 overs.
The Queen’s Park Oval witnessed yet another cliff-hanging match in the series. India managed to win both the games and secured the series. But still, we have one more game left in the series. With the way the matches are going, we can expect another electrifying game there. The third ODI will be played on Wednesday, 27th July at the same venue.
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