Indian all-rounder Axar Patel’s incredible knock powered India to a thrilling win over the West Indies in the second ODI at the Queen’s Park Oval in Trinidad. He slammed an unbeaten 64 runs off just 35 balls to take India home. The visitors now have an unassailable lead of 2-0 in the three-match ODI series. Following his knock, Axar revealed how Avesh Khan’s advice helped him to plan the final over.
With India already seven wickets down, Axar Patel had to do the bulk of the work for his team. However, Avesh Khan also supported the all-rounder well by hitting a couple of crucial boundaries in the match. His contribution turned out to be significant for the Indian team, as they won the match by a couple of wickets in the last over.
Speaking to leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal on ‘Chahal TV’, Axar Patel revealed how Avesh Khan’s advice helped in the match. The pacer reminded him that the last over was going to be bowled by a part-timer. Axar said,
“When I was batting in the 49th over, Avesh Bhai used his head and told me, ‘Look, their three main bowlers have finished their quota of 10 overs.’ So I played that over out without any risks as I knew the final over would be bowled by a part-timer. He (Mayers) missed his length and I took advantage of it.”
Chahal TV 📺 is back – this time from The Caribbean 😎 👌
This episode ft., 2nd #WIvIND ODI batting hero – @akshar2026 & ODI debutant @Avesh_6. 👍 👍 – By @28anand
Full interview 🎥 🔽 #TeamIndia | @yuzi_chahalhttps://t.co/KbrajeCbYR pic.twitter.com/Ulb42hOdvO
— BCCI (@BCCI) July 25, 2022
“Didn’t focus too much on the equation or the pitch” – Axar Patel
Indian batters Shreyas Iyer and Sanju Samson also contributed valuable runs to the Indian total. Shreyas Iyer scored 63 runs while Sanju Samson slammed 54 runs, however, the duo could not finish off the game for India. At one point, it seemed that India would lose the match, however, Axar Patel kept his calm to win the match for India.
“When I went to bat in the 39th over, we needed around 105 runs in 11 overs. I had a chat with Hooda Bhai and we discussed that chasing teams have won from similar scenarios in the IPL. So we just focused on our intent and didn’t focus too much on the equation or the pitch. We just needed to take one risk per over and that’s what we kept on doing,” said Axar Patel.
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