Patel’s career-best 64 not out off 35 deliveries proved to be a match-winning hand as India kept a spirited West Indies side at bay again and clinched victory by two wickets in the second ODI of the three-match series on July 24.
Patel came up with his most explosive knock for India when the visitors had their chips down, feeling the heat at 205/5 in the 39th over and needing over 10 runs an over. But the spin allrounder kept India in the hunt with a flurry of boundaries. He hit three fours and five sixes in total, including a final-over six to seal the deal for his side.
With six required off the last three deliveries, the left-hander smashed a full-toss from medium-pacer Kyle Mayers down the ground to finish off the proceedings for his team and clinch another series victory for India.
Patel had earlier as well played his part in keeping India’s feat in the contest by delivering a restrictive spell of 1 for 40 off his nine overs. In a high-scoring thriller where the Calypso Kings posted 311/6 on the board, Patel’s accurate bowling ensured they couldn’t take the game away from the Indians.
For his excellent all-round display, he was rightfully awarded the ‘Player of the Match’, also taking a giant leap above other candidates in the race to bag the backup spin bowling allrounder’s role to incumbent Ravindra Jadeja, who was ruled out of the ODI series due to a knee injury.
Either side of Patel, only pacer Mohammed Siraj (0/47) and Deepak Hooda (1/42), with his part-time off-spin could claim to have enjoyed some control with the ball. Shardul Thakur had a typical day out with the ball in hand, taking three wickets but also going for 54 runs off his seven overs.
Experienced wristspinner Yuzvendra Chahal had a poor outing, going for 1 for 69 off his 9 overs, conceding six sixes along the way. Debutant Avesh Khan looked nervous throughout his 6-over workout for 0 for 54.
West Indies had opening batter Shai Hope celebrating his 100th ODI appearance with a century, as he guided an edgy batting unit from his end with a knock of 115 off 135 deliveries. Mayers (39) and Shamarh Brooks (35) missed out on substantial scores after good starts, but skipper Nicholas Pooran came up with a gem of a knock, making 74 off 77 balls to help propel his team to a massive total.
India got off to an iffy start, with stand-in captain Shikhar Dhawan struggling through his 31-ball 13 in the first powerplay. At the other end, last match’s half-centurion Shubman Gill missed out on a stand-out effort again, getting out for 43 off 49 balls. Soon Suryakumar Yadav (9) followed him to the shed as the Indian innings got reduced to 79 for 3.
This is the moment the tourists posted their recovery thanks to fifties from Shreyas Iyer (64) and Sanju Samson (54). The duo shared a fourth-wicket stand of 99 runs at a good pace and brought India back into the contest. After Iyer’s departure, Samson found an able partner in Hooda (33). But soon, at 256/6, the onus was left completely on Patel to try and keep India’s chase going. The left-hander did that brilliantly and went on to give his team an unassailable series lead.
West Indies’ new-ball pair Alzarri Joseph (2/46) and Jayden Seales (1/40) bowled well in their 10-over spells, but the hosts lacked enough quality in their backup arsenal to stop the Indians from reaching the winning post.
Brief scores
West Indies 311/6 in 50 overs (Hope 115, Pooran 74; Thakur 3/54) lost to India 312/8 in 49.4 overs (Patel 64*, Samson 54; Joseph 2/46) by 2 wickets
