Port of Spain: Axar Patel's unbeaten 64 off 35 balls helped India beat West Indies by two wickets in a nail-biting second ODI here.
Patel's blistering knock was decorated with five sixes and three boundaries that guided India to an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series on Sunday.
Chasing 312, opening duo captain Shikhar Dhawan and Shubman Gill put on a partnership 48-run partnership for the first wicket before Romario Shepherd sent skipper packing for the score of 13 in the 11th over.
In the 16th over, Kyle Mayers denied set batter Gill a half-century and sent him packing for the score of 43 off 49. Then, Shreyas Iyer (63) and Sanju Samson (54) came in and scored crucial half-centuries to keep India in the hunt. The duo put on a partnership of 99 runs for the fourth wicket.
But, both Iyer and Samson fell with India still 107 runs away from victory. And, that is when Axar Patel played a blinder.
India required 100 from the final 10 overs with Patel and Deepak Hooda at the crease and just five wickets remaining. But the duo batted sensibly when required and found the boundary when needed to chase down the required target with just two balls remaining.
With Hooda departing for 33 in the 45th over, it was left to Axar to complete the job as the all-rounder hit five sixes to finish unbeaten on 64 and guide India to victory.
For West Indies, Alzarri Joseph and Mayers picked up two wickets each.
Earlier, Mayers and Shai Hope had given West Indies a blazing start after the hosts won the toss and opted to bat first.
Mayers was the more aggressive of the two openers as the left-hander found gaps in the field to fetch boundaries at will.
In nine overs, West Indies had already crossed 65 with Mayers on 39 when India brought in the part-time off-spinner Hooda in attack.. He sent back Mayers first ball with a loopy off-break that the left-hander could only chip back to the bowler.
Shai smashed a hundred in his 100th ODI to join a select list of players in Port of Spain. The hundred, his 13th in the format, came with a towering six off Yuzvendra Chahal in the 45th over of the innings and the West Indian opener celebrated it with another big hit for six off the next ball.
India's quicks looked flat early on with Avesh Khan, on ODI debut, going for 36 runs in his first three overs. He finished with 64 runs conceded in nine overs and went wicket-less in an ODI debut to forget.
India, however, struck in quick succession after that with the wickets of Shamarh Brooks and Brandon King off back-to-back overs from Patel and Chahal. Hope, however, found an ally in Nicholas Pooran (74 off 77) and the duo put on a brilliant 117-run stand.
Hope continued to build on his solid start and completed his landmark hundred late in the innings. Pooran would go on make a century, but before the expected big acceleration in the death overs, Shardul Thakur bowled him around his legs.
For India, Thakur was the pick of the bowlers. The right-arm pacer picked up three wickets in his 7-over spell.
Brief scores:
India: 312/8 in 49.4 overs (Axar Patel 64*, Shreyas Iyer 63, Alzarri Joseph 2/46) beat West Indies 311/6 (Shai Hope 115, Nicholas Pooran 74, Shardul Thakur 3/54) by two wickets. (UNI)
