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Axar Patel turned out to be a star with the bat as India defeated West Indies by two wickets in a thrilling match against West Indies in the second ODI of the three-match series at Queen's Park Oval in Port of Spain on July 24, 2022. While chasing a target of 312 runs against the Windies, India were left in a tricky situation as they were reduced to 205/5 under 39 overs. After that, Axar went on to play a match-winning knock of 64*(35) runs as India registered a thrilling victory with just two balls remaining.
Batting first, West Indies posted a total of 311 runs for the loss of six wickets in their 50 overs. Shai Hope was top scorer with 115(135) runs, hitting eight fours and three sixes, while skipper Nicholas Pooran played a captain’s knock of 74(77) runs, hitting with one four and six sixes. For India, Shardul Thakur took three wickets, while Deepak Hooda, Axar Patel and Yuzvendra Chahal scalped a wicket each.
Axar Patel guided India to thrilling win in the last over
Chasing the winning target, India got a fine start as stand-in captain Shikhar Dhawan and Shubman Gill added 48 runs for the first wicket in 11 overs. Gill got out after scoring 43 runs off 49 balls. After that, Shreyas Iyer went on to play a knock of 63(71) runs while Sanju Samson contributed with 54(51) runs. However, India went on to lose regular wickets in the middle overs and were reduced to 205/5 in 38.4 overs.
After that, Axar Patel took charge of the innings and added 51 runs for the sixth wicket with Deepak Hooda (33 off 36). After Axar, went on to play sensibly with the tailenders and took the match to the final over. With eight runs remaining off the last six balls. Axar and Mohammed Siraj went on to collect two runs in the first three balls together. On the fourth ball, Axar smashes a six against Kyle Mayers as India registered a thrilling win with two ball remaining and took an unassailable lead of 2-0 in the series.
