India 312 for 8 (Axar 64*, Iyer 63, Samson 54, Joseph 2-46, Mayers 2-48) beat West Indies 311 for six (Hope 115, Pooran 74, Thakur 3-54) by two wickets
India wanted 100 to win from 60 balls with 5 wickets in hand, and Axar and Hooda have been on the crease. Hooda fell for 33 with 56 to get off 36, leaving Axar and Shardul Thakur to finish the job. By then, Axar had already clobbered three sixes. More have been on the way in which.
Samson bought to his maiden ODI fifty – his knock of 54 off 51 balls included three fours and three sixes – and was at his finest when clearing the lengthy-off boundary by lofting the spinners, excessive elbows and all in full show. Iyer, alternatively, had had a sedate begin, managing solely 19 off his first 33 deliveries. That is when he broke free to complete with 63 off 71 balls, slicing, pulling and lifting for boundaries.
The proven fact that India had as many as 312 to chase was all the way down to Hope and Pooran’s fourth-wicket stand of 117, 74 of which got here off Pooran’s bat. Hope bought 115 – his third triple-determine rating in 11 ODI innings.
But it was not simply Hope who took a liking to Chahal; Pooran too bashed three sixes – together with two within the thirty ninth over – off him. Their partnership, simply wanting a-run-a-ball, progressively took the momentum away from India, who had struck twice in fast succession after an aggressive begin by West Indies.
Through Hope and his opening associate Mayers, the hosts had placed on 71 within the first ten overs – their joint-highest rating within the interval in ODIs since 2020. By the time Hooda broke by, pouching a easy return-catch from Mayers off the primary ball of the tenth over, the pair had already smashed ten fours and a six. Mayers led the way in which in that stand, hitting 39 off 23 balls, as Avesh took the largest beating.
Mayers timed and positioned the ball equally effectively, and thrashed it round too. Once West Indies misplaced two wickets for 3 runs, Pooran took over the attacking function.
On 11 off his first 26 balls, he hit the primary of his six sixes when he went exhausting and flat over lengthy-off within the thirty second over; three overs later, he skipped all the way down to ship Chahal crusing again over his head. While sixes have been hit off Axar and Avesh as effectively, Hope stored the scoreboard ticking on the different finish.
Hope’s innings was one in every of three components: he began with 22 off 21 balls, then bought 73 from his subsequent 103 deliveries, and hit 20 off his subsequent 11 balls. It all added as much as carry West Indies firmly in the direction of the 300-run mark. He produced spectacular drives and punches – and a poke by deep third for 4 – to begin the day with Mayers, accrued singles and ran effectively together with Pooran, and went for the slogs ultimately after Pooran fell within the forty fourth over.
Cameos from Shamarh Brooks, Rovman Powell and Shepherd helped West Indies’ trigger. Brooks bought going the second Mayers fell, and scored 35 off 36; Powell and Shepherd supplied the ending touches.
But ultimately, the day belonged to Axar and Co regardless of the heroics of Pooran and Hope, particularly the latter, who bought to each his fifty and hundred with a six, in Virender Sehwag style, at the same time as he performed a extra anchor-ish function.
Himanshu Agrawal is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo
