‘Thhari batting kamal chhe’: Twitter erupts as Axar Patel leads India to series win over West Indies – Firstcricket News, Firstpost

Axar Patel stepped up and starred with the bat as India beat West Indies in another thriller to clinch the second ODI and seal the 3-match series. The visitors chased down 312 with two deliveries to spare on Sunday.

Earlier in the day, Nicholas Pooran won the toss and elected to bat first. Shai Hope and Kyle Mayers started strongly. In his 100^th ODI match, Hope stood tall and slammed a hundred. Along with skipper Nicholas Pooran’s 74, and few big hits down the order by Romario Shepherd, West Indies posted 311 at the end of their 50 overs.

In response, India slipped to 79 for 3 and this is when Shreyas Iyer and Sanju Samson partnered up and revived the innings with half-centuries. However, West Indies made a roaring comeback and picked up regular wickets after the Samson-Iyer partnership. The onus was on Axar Patel, who has not yet translated his potential with the bat, and he finally came to the fore.

India needed 100 off the last 10 overs, but were five down. All the focus was on Deepak Hooda and Patel. The left-hander took up the mantle and stuck into Akeal Hosein and Romario Shepherd while Hooda was churning the strike over at the other end. This brisk stand brought down the equation to 56 off 36 deliveries.

The visitors needed 32 needed off 24 and this is when Patel struck two fours off Shepherd and powered to a half-century off 27 balls. India needed eight runs off the final over and it came down to six off three balls and this is where Mayers dished a full toss and Patel slammed it over mid-off to seal the series with a six.

“I think this is a special one. It came at a crucial time and also helped the team to win the series,” he said at the post-match presentation.

This is how Twitter responded after this win:

The third ODI between the sides will be played at Port of Spain on 27 July.

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