Led by Axar Patel, India secured the ODI series against the West Indies in yet another close thriller at the Port of Spain on Monday, July 25. The bowling all-rounder was at his best with the bat this time, smashing an unbeaten 35-ball 64, his maiden ODI fifty, to help India to a series-clinching two-wicket win over the hosts.
After their emphatic win, skipper Shikhar Dhawan shared his happiness with the performance of the middle order batters, especially Axar and Avesh Khan, who had a forgettable debut with the ball. "It was a great team performance. We made mistakes, we took the challenge and we had self-belief. I was also surprised. Hats off to our middle order. All the batters were amazing, Axar and Avesh, who got those boundaries, were amazing," he said at the post-match press conference.
Dhawan went on to heap praise on India's domestic scenario, which the skipper believes gives India the confidence to perform in front of big crowds, "Our domestic and IPL cricket keeps us ready as we play in front of big crowds."
His sentiments were also echoed by the Player of the Match Axar, It's very special, to get it in a crucial, series-winning cause is amazing. When I went out, I aimed for 10-11 an over. We thought it could be done as we have IPL experience. We wanted to be calm and keep cover of the rate. This was special as this is my first ODI since 2017, and even my first fifty came here. Winning the series too makes me feel wonderful.
Speaking about the game, Dhawan said, "At the halfway stage, we felt we pulled them. We got a couple of wickets, then Hope and Pooran took off. We thought we can do it if they can. We started slowly, I thought we can take off against the left-arm spin. I got out, and Shreyas and Sanju played well. There was a silly mistake with the runout. But the way Axar played was amazing."
Even the opponent captain Nicholas Pooran spoke highly of Axar, but expected a better bowling performance, "We lost it in the last overs, Axar played well and we didn't hold our nerves. We could not keep things down in the last five overs. We felt that it got easier to hit spinners. And we gambled with Akeal bowling against left-handers. One wicket would have opened up things but Axar played brilliantly."
