"Avesh Bhai used his head"- Axar Patel opens up on how Avesh Khan's advice helped him plan for last over in 2nd IND vs WI ODI

All-rounder Axar Patel played an incredible knock of 64*(35) under pressure to take India home in the second ODI against West Indies at Port of Spain. However, the 28-year-old also acknowledged the way debutant Avesh Khan hung in there with him until the penultimate over.

With the likes of Deepak Hooda and Shardul Thakur back in the hut, Axar knew that he had to do all the hitting to take the Men in Blue over the line.

The 25-year-old pacer hung in there with the southpaw and also hit a couple of crucial boundaries, which turned out to be significant in the context of the chase.

Speaking to leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal on 'Chahal TV', Axar Patel spoke about how Avesh Khan reminded him of the fact that the last over was going to be bowled by a part-timer. He said:

"When I was batting in the 49th over, Avesh Bhai used his head and told me, 'Look, their three main bowlers have finished their quota of 10 overs.' So I played that over out without any risks as I knew the final over would be bowled by a part-timer. He (Mayers) missed his length and I took advantage of it."

Axar Patel on his approach in the crunch situation

When Sanju Samson was run out against the run of play, it seemed like India were just one wicket away from losing the game. But Axar Patel spoke about how he and Deepak Hooda planned to break down the chase one over at a time.

The 28-year-old stressed the importance of batting with intent, something that helped him notch up his maiden ODI fifty. He stated:

"When I went to bat in the 39th over, we needed around 105 runs in 11 overs. I had a chat with Hooda bhai and we discussed that chasing teams have won from similar scenarios in the IPL. So we just focused on our intent and didn't focus too much on the equation or the pitch. We just needed to take one risk per over and that's what we kept on doing."

Axar finally seems to have come of age with his batting. He always had the potential with the bat and now just needs to deliver such performances consistently.