Axar Patel’s 64 not out off 35 balls helped India chase down a 312-run target against West Indies in the second ODI of the three-match series at Queen’s Park Oval, Trinidad on Sunday. With it, India gained an unassailable 2-0 advantage in the series. Earlier, Shai Hope’s century (115 runs off 135 balls) helped West Indies set a 312-run target for India. Nicholas Pooran’s 74 off 77 also played a crucial role in taking Windies to the total of over 300 after the host skipper won the toss and opted to bat first against India in the game. Shardul Thakur was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 3 for 54. Notably, India had edged past West Indies by three runs in the first ODI at the same venue on Friday
Shikhar Dhawan, India captain, said, ‘It was a great team performance. Boys didn’t lose the self belief, that is amazing. Iyer, Sanju, Axar everyone was amazing, Even Avesh came out in his debut game and scored those 11 important runs. Thanks to IPL, they perform on a huge stage. I felt that we bowled nicely. They got off to a good start. Hope and Pooran batted well. We thought if they could do it, we knew that we could do it. We started a little slow. Shubman batted well. The Iyer-Samson partnership made a huge difference. There was a run-out. But these things happen. Boys are learning. Thanks to the support staff as well. They have been doing a tremendous job. It was a great feeling when I scored a 100 in my 100th ODI game. I would want to congratulate Hope for doing the same.’