Fifties from Iyer, Samson, Axar help India secure thrilling 2-wicket win over WI

Half-centuries from Shreyas Iyer, Sanju Samson and Axar Patel helped Team India win the second ODI of the three-match series against West Indies by two wickets here at Queens Park Oval stadium in Port of Spain on Sunday.

India have now taken a winning 2-0 lead in the series. Struggling at 79/3, a 99-run stand between Iyer (63) and Samson (54) provided stability to their innings. In the end contributions from Deepak Hooda (33) and Axar Patel (64*) proved to be extremely vital in taking the visitors to a win. West Indies lost control of the match despite sending back the top order in the early stages of the match and despite posting a huge total on the board themselves.

Chasing 312, India was off to a solid start. Shubman Gill showed a lot of intent from start and smashed some good boundaries. His partner, skipper Shikhar Dhawan was the less aggressive of the two.

At the end of 10 overs, India stood at 42/0, with Gill (30*) and Dhawan (12*).

The duo had stitched a stand of 48 runs before pacer Romario Shepherd intervened to dismiss a struggling Dhawan for 13 off 31 balls.

Shreyas Iyer was next up on crease. Gill was well settled on the crease and looked on track to complete his second straight fifty, but got caught and bowled by Kyle Mayers for 43 off 49 balls. At this point, India stood at 65/2 and Suryakumar Yadav was next on the crease.

Suryakumar showed some intent with a huge six, but the ball hit the inside edge of his bat and left his stumps rattled when he was at 9. Mayers struck once again for the hosts and with these three wickets within a short span of time, Windies looked really strong. India stood at 79/3 at this point, in desperate need of a partnership.

Wicketkeeper Sanju Samson was next on the crease and resumed the chase with Iyer. The duo maintained some good running between the wickets and occasionally went for big hits. The duo brought up their 50-run stand in 52 balls.

Shreyas was looking really good, bringing up his 11th half-century in the format with a four through deep midwicket, which also took India beyond the 150-run mark. The 30th over bowled by Mayers proved to be extremely expensive, giving away 16 runs.

The duo started accelerating after bringing up their 50-run stand. The duo fell short one run of forming a 100-run stand after Iyer was trapped leg before wicket by pacer Alzarri Joseph for 63 off 71 balls.

Next up on the crease was Deepak Hooda. Hooda-Samson kept the scoreboard ticking for India. Samson brought up his maiden fifty off 47 balls with a four through the fine leg region. The duo had added only 27 runs before Samson was dismissed for 54 off 51 balls. India was 205/5 at this point, with 107 more runs to go.

Axar Patel was next up on the crease. At the end of 40 overs, India stood at 212/5, with Axar (4*) and Hooda (18*). Men in Blue needed 100 runs in the final ten overs. The scoreboard kept moving for India with the duo attempting some big hits. They took India to the 250-run mark.

Axar-Hooda brought up their 50-run stand in 31 balls. The equation came down to 56 runs required in the final six overs. Hooda was dismissed for 33 off 36 by spinner Akeal Hosein after being caught by Hayden Walsh at backward point.

Shardul Thakur was next up on the crease. Patel continued to look good with the bat. The 46th over of the game by Alzarri Joseph was expensive and took a lot of pressure off India’s batters. Just when it looked India will continue turning the game in their favour, Thakur was dismissed for 3 runs by Joseph after being caught by Brooks at deep cover.

Avesh Khan was next on the crease. The equation was down to 32 off 24 balls. Patel brought up his maiden fifty in just 27 balls, single-handedly carrying on the chase as the last recognised batter.

19 were needed in the final three overs. Patel and Khan had the responsibility to not lose their wickets and take India across the finishing line. Patel was dismissed for 10 by Jayden Seales.

Mohammed Siraj was next on the crease. India needed eight in the final over. Patel sealed the match for India with a massive six on the fourth ball of the over, finishing at 64* off 35 balls with three fours and five sixes.

Alzarri Joseph finished as the pick of the bowlers with 2/46. Mayers also got two wickets. Shepherd and Hosein got one each.

Earlier, top knocks from Shai Hope and captain Nicholas Pooran powered West Indies to a massive 311/6 at the end of 50 overs in the second ODI of three-match series here at Queen’s Park Oval in Port of Spain on Sunday.

Opting to bat first, West Indies was off to a great start. Openers Shai Hope and Kyle Mayers were dealing in boundaries. The duo powered their side to the 50-run-mark in just 7.1 overs.

However, their 65-run stand was ended after Mayers was caught and bowled by spin-bowling all-rounder Deepak Hooda for 39 runs off 23 balls consisting of six fours and one six in the ninth over. Shamarh Brooks was next up on crease.

At the end of 10 overs, West Indies stood at 71/1, with Shai Hope (26*) and Shamarh Brooks (5*) standing unbeaten.

The duo carried on with the momentum offered by the opening duo. Indian bowlers struggled to put pressure on the new batter on the crease. Brooks hit some great boundaries and served as a great partner to Hope. The duo eventually brought up their 50-run stand.

Hope also brought his 21st fifty, playing in his 100th ODI match. The 62-run stand between Hope-Brooks was brought to an end after the ball hit the outside edge of his bat and went straight to skipper Shikhar Dhawan at slips. Brooks was back in the pavilion for 35 off 36 balls. It was a spinner once again who had done the job for India, with Axar Patel getting his first wicket.

Brandon King was the next batter up, but was dismissed by spinner Yuzvendra Chahal for a duck after he attempted to slog sweep a delivery that went straight into the hands of Shikhar at slip. With the score reading 130/3, India had made a small comeback in the match.

Captain Nicholas Pooran and Hope started to rebuild the innings from that point. They maintained a solid strike rotation and hit big occasionally. They brought up their 50-run stand and continued further with Hope being the main aggressor and Pooran being the anchor.

Pooran was dealing in only sixes, bringing his tenth half-century in ODIs in 59 balls after hitting Chahal for two sixes in the 39th over of the match. A hundred-run stand between Hope-Pooran was up in 115 balls.

The duo kept carrying on before pacer Shardul Thakur struck in the 44th over, dismissing Pooran for 74 off 77 balls consisting of one four and six sixes, West Indies was now 247/4, after breaking of this 117-run stand.

Rovman Powell was next on the crease. Hope brought up his 13th ODI century, making his 100th ODI special. He hit Chahal for a six in the 45th over to bring up his century.

Powell looked dangerous, smashing a four and six shortly after his arrival but found Shreyas Iyer at long-off while attempting to go big on a Thakur delivery. He was dismissed for 13 off 10 balls.

Romario Shepherd was next up to bat. The duo took Windies to the 300-run mark. Thakur got his third wicket of the match, dismissing Hope for 115 of 135 balls after Axar Patel caught him at long-off.

WI finished their innings at 311/6, with Shepherd (15*) and Akeal Hosein (6*) standing unbeaten.

Shardul Thakur was the pick of the bowlers for India, taking 3/54 in 7 overs. Axar Patel, Deepak Hooda and Chahal got one wicket each.

Brief Scores: West Indies: 311/6 (Shai Hope 115, Nicholas Pooran 74, Shardul Thakur 3/54) lost to India: 312/8 in 49.4 overs (Axar Patel 64*, Shreyas Iyer 63, Alzarri Joseph 2/46) by two wickets.