It was a roller coaster ride for both the teams as this was an absolute box office stuff. It was the fourth consecutive 300+ score in the series. Axar Patel had stolen this in day light from the hosts and resulted as another shattering loss for the West Indies.
West Indies won the toss and opted to bat: Hope’s classy ton
After a close and nail biting first game, this has also been the same in terms of drama, action and the result. After winning the toss, Windies skipper Nicholas Pooran opted to bat and Windies openers started well to pay off the decision. Shai Hope 115(135) was just brilliant with the bat and notched a fancy ton with Kyle Mayers 39(23) had been really aggressive at the top.
Captain’s Knock by Pooran:
Windies’ middle order failed to impress except their skipper Nicholas Pooran 74(77) who played a skipper’s knock to strengthen his team’s position. Apart from him Brooks 35(36) also made a handy contribution at the start. As a result, Windies posted a massive target of 312 for India in order to clinch the series.
India’s bowling didn’t impress much as all the bowlers except Axar Patel went for runs. Axar delivered a decent spell of 9 overs with 1 wicket for 40 runs. Thakur bagged 3 along with Hooda and Chahal but were a bit expensive. Avesh, being a debutant went for runs as well as remained wicketless.
India’s Fightback:
India’s start was solid but skipper Dhawan 13(31) being too slow went early. Gill made a solid 43(49) at the top. Sky 9(8) failed to deliver today. Some clean hits kept India in the chase when the pressure was on and it continued till it got India over the line. Iyer 63(71) and Samson 54(51) revived the hopes for India after they were three down for 79. But both could only get fifties. Then Hooda 33(36) joined hands with Axar 64(35) only for the latter to carry the baton till the end. Avesh Khan swinging hard and getting a couple of fours also took the pressure off Axar as well. Jayden Seales and Alzarri Joseph were the pick of the bowlers for WI. Windies need to just lift themselves up as they were so close to a win only to fall cruelly short.
Man on a mission-“Axar Patel”
After delivering a disciplined spell, it was the time for him to shine with the bat in his hand and what a moment- simply incredible. Axar came in when Sanju got out and India were 5 down for 205. He started off with on a high and never looked back and marched his team to victory single handedly. He finished off in style by smashing a six to clinch the match as well as the series for India. For this incredible stuff, he was also adjudged by Player of the Match award.
India have found ways to get out of jail. Windies still find themselves imprisoned thanks to a few silly errors. Their free fall in ODIs still hasn’t stopped. They are getting better but haven’t been able to deliver at crunch moments. India have gobbled up the ODI series but there is a game to go and Windies would look to come back hard. The last game was a bitter pill to swallow for them.
Featured Image: Cricfit
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