Axar Patel breaks MS Dhoni's 17-year-old record with match-winning knock in 2nd ODI against West Indies

Axar Patel was one of the heroes for India in their thrilling 2-wicket win in the second ODI against West Indies as the Men in Blue clinched the three-match series 2-0 with two straight wins in the first two games. Axar slammed an unbeaten knock of 64 runs off just 35 balls to help India chase down the target of 312 runs in the final over in what was a nail-biting finish at the Queen's Park Oval in Port of Spain.

Asked to chase a tricky target of 312 runs, India got off to a shaky start as captain Shikhar Dhawan was sent back cheaply on 13 before his opening partner Shubman Gill (43) also departed in quick succession. India were left reeling on 79/3 at one stage after losing Suryakumar Yadav cheaply on 9 off 8 balls.

However, two terrific half-centuries from Shreyas Iyer (63) and Snaju Samson (54) took India closer to victory before Axar finished off the run-chase in a thrilling fashion with his quickfire 64. The left-hand all-rounder slammed 3 fours and 5 sixes in his match-winning 64 to break a 17-year-old record held by MS Dhoni.

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Axar, who played his career-best ODI knock to take India over the line in the nail-biting run-chase, slammed 5 sixes during his knock which is the most by an Indian batter batting at number 7 or lower in a successful run chase in ODIs. Dhoni held the record previously for smashing 3 sixes in a run-chase against Zimbabwe in an ODI in 2005.

Former India all-rounder Yusuf Pathan had also slammed three sixes twice in India's successful run-chase against South Africa and Zimbabwe in 2011 to match Dhoni's feat. However, Axar surpassed it on Sunday with his batting exploits against West Indies.

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India also set a new world record with their two-wicket win against West Indies in the second ODI. India have now won a record 12 bilateral ODI series against West Indies which is the most by any country against a single team. The Shikhar Dhawan-led Men in Bue will be eyeing a clean sweep when they take on West Indies in the 3rd ODI on Wednesday.