IND vs WI: Rohit Sharma praises Axar Patel in Gujarati, says ‘Bapu badhu saru che’ after match-winning knock

Team India captain Rohit Sharma praised all-rounder Axar Patel, known as ‘Bapu’ among fans, who scored an unbeaten 64 to guide his side to victory in the second ODI against West Indies.

Axar Patel en route to scoring a fifty against West Indies in the second ODI. (Source: Twitter)

Team India skipper Rohit Sharma is on his way to the Caribbean ahead of the five-match T20 series against the West Indies which gets underway on Friday (July 29). On Monday (July 25), Rohit praised Team India for their strong performance against West Indies in the second ODI. Half-centuries from Shreyas Iyer, Sanju Samson and Axar Patel helped Team India win the second ODI of the three-match series against West Indies by two wickets at Queens Park Oval stadium in Port of Spain on Sunday.

Rohit also praised all-rounder Axar Patel, known as ‘Bapu’ among fans, who scored an unbeaten 64 to guide Team India to victory. “Woah that was some performance from team India last night. Bapu badhu Saru che @akshar2026 @bcci,” tweeted Rohit.

Woah that was some performance from team India last night. Bapu badhu Saru che @akshar2026 @bcci — Rohit Sharma (@ImRo45) July 25, 2022

India has now taken a winning 2-0 lead in the series. Batting first, Top knocks from Shai Hope and captain Nicholas Pooran powered West Indies to a massive 311/6 at the end of 50 overs in the second ODI of three-match series here at Queen’s Park Oval in Port of Spain on Sunday.

The WI batters had a great day with the bat as openers Hope and Kyle Mayers (39) gave a solid start. Later, more bigger partnerships followed, notably between Hope (115) and Pooran (74), who put on 117 runs. Though Shardul Thakur took three wickets and restricted the run flow to an extent in the final ten overs, Indian bowlers did not have many positives to walk away with.

Struggling at 79/3 while chasing 312, a 99-run stand between Iyer (63) and Samson (54) provided stability to their innings. In the end contributions from Deepak Hooda (33) and Axar Patel (64 not out) proved to be extremely vital in taking the visitors to a win.

West Indies lost control of the match despite sending back the top order in the early stages of the match and despite posting a huge total on the board themselves. Notably, Rohit Sharma will join Team India for the five-match T20I series against West Indies which will take place after the ongoing ODI series from July 29 to August 7.

(with ANI inputs)