Axar Patel scored his first ODI fifty, an unbeaten 35-ball 64, as India defeated the West Indies by two wickets to win the series.
The visitors, who were given a challenging target of 312, were reduced to 205 for five in 38.4 overs, but Patel rekindled India’s pursuit with his six-hitting skills to send the guests home on Sunday with two balls to spare.
India gained an unbeatable 2-0 lead in the three-match series when Patel hit Kyle Mayers for a six when India needed six off the last three balls.
Patel’s unbeaten innings included five sixes and three fours, and he and Deepak Hooda (33) combined 51 runs in 33 balls to keep India in the game.
This occurred after attempts by Shreyas Iyer (age 63) and Sanju Samson (age 54) to deepen the pursuit with the well-paced fifties.
Before electing to bat, West Indies recorded an outstanding 311 for six thanks to Shai Hope’s masterful 135-ball 117 and Nicholas Pooran’s 74 off 77 balls, which included six maximums and one four.
In India’s reply, Shubman Gill (43) looked sharp as he smashed five boundaries in his 49-ball innings, while skipper Shikhar Dhawan (13) struggled at the other end.
With Mayers making an incredible catch at third man off the bowling of Romario Shepherd, the India captain was the first to leave the field.
Mayers quickly removed two Indian batters, first getting rid of a well-positioned Gill and then Suryakumar Yadav (9), who dragged a ball to his stumps once again.
With a 99-run partnership off 94 balls, Iyer and Samson attempted to extend the chase, but once both had left the field, India still needed 105 runs from 11 overs.
After that, Patel put on a show for everyone by continuing to fight after losing to Hooda and Shardul Thakur.
Hope had previously performed the job of an anchor to perfection, scoring 65 runs with the team’s first-round starter Mayers (39) and then forming a second 62-run stand with Shamarh Brooks (35).
Later, Hope found his ideal partner in captain Pooran, and the two collaborated on a 117-run stand.
Hope’s 135-ball, 115-run performance included eight fours and three maximums before being cheaply removed in the opening ODI.
Patel and Hooda, India’s spinners, were frugal (1/40 and 1/42), but Yuzvendra Chahal (1/69) was costly after being hit for six sixes and two fours.
Avesh Khan (0/54 in 6 overs) had a dismal ODI debut, while Mohammed Siraj (0/47) bowled brilliantly. Thakur (3/54) made up for it at the tail end with three wickets.
Hope seemed in top form as he played some beautiful off-side drives before hitting a six in the 45th over of his 100th ODI match to achieve the 300-run milestone.
Avesh, an Indian bowler making his debut, was destroyed earlier by Mayers, who smacked him for two consecutive boundaries in the fourth and sixth overs. Avesh, guilty of bowling too full and short, eventually gave up 36 runs in his first three overs.
Mayers blasted his first two balls for a four and a six, so Thakur was not exempt. However, Siraj managed to keep things close in his first stint.
Mayers’ direct return to the bowler of Hooda’s opening ball led to the first breakthrough.
As just 42 runs were scored from the eleventh to the twentieth over, Hooda and Patel bowled in tandem as Brooks and Hopes attempted to form a partnership.
Chahal, who joined the assault later than expected, was destroyed by Hope and Brooks’ six and four in the 21st over.
But when Brooks was removed from the game by Patel, who had been summoned back by Dhawan, the Indian captain took a poor catch.
Brandon King’s botched slog sweep delivered more setbacks to Chahal as WI fell to 130 for three.
READ MORE: Dhawan and Siraj Shine As India Beat West Indies By 3 Runs
After taking his time at first, Pooran utilized his feet to deliver some powerful blows against the spinners, notably Chahal.
Hope added three boundaries of his own and slog-swept Chahal for a six to achieve his fifty.
By the 38th over, the 200 had been reached thanks to two maximums from Pooran. The West Indies captain scored fifty in the 39th over by launching two sixes off Chahal on opposite sides of the wicket.
A critical breakthrough was made when Thakur bowled Pooran around the legs after he sent Avesh over the ropes on one knee and hit Patel for another six.
Once Hope reached his century, he hit two sixes in two balls off Chahal, and the hosts passed the 300-point threshold with some ferocious knocks from Rovman Powell (13) and Romario Shepherd (14).
In the last 10 overs, West Indies collected 93 runs.
