Axar Patel powers India to series-clinching win over WI in 2nd ODI
Port of Spain(PTI): Axar Patel smashed a whirlwind unbeaten 35-ball 64, his maiden ODI fifty, to steer India to a series-clinching two-wicket win over the West Indies in a tense second match here.
Set a stiff target of 312, the visitors were tottering at 205 for five in 38.4 overs but Patel rescued India with his six-hitting prowess, taking the visitors home with two balls to spare on Sunday.
Needing six runs off last three balls, Patel clobbered Kyle Mayers straight over his head for a six as India took an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.
Patel smashed five sixes and three fours in his unconquered innings and added 51 off 33 balls with Deepak Hooda (33). This was after Shreyas Iyer (63) and Sanju Samson (54) took the chase deep with well-paced fifties.
"It's very special, to get it in a crucial, series-winning cause is amazing. When I went out, I aimed for 10-11 an over. We thought it could be done as we have IPL experience," Patel, who was adjudged man of the match, said.
"We wanted to be calm and keep cover of the rate. This was special as this is my first ODI since 2017, even my first fifty came here."
India skipper Shikhar Dhawan was lavish in his praise for the all-rounder.
"The way Axar played was amazing. Our domestic and IPL cricket keeps us ready as we play in front of big crowds. As Axar said, he's done it multiple times in IPL. That brings a big stage."
West Indies skipper Nicholas Pooran said his side lost the game "in the last six overs."
"Axar played well and we didn't hold our nerves. We could not keep things down in the last five overs. We felt that it got easier to hit spinners. One wicket would have opened up things but Axar played brilliantly," he said.
Opting to bat, Shai Hope produced a masterclass 135-ball 117, while skipper Nicholas Pooran showed his big-hitting prowess with six maximums and one four during his 74 off 77 balls as West Indies posted an impressive 311 for six.
In reply, Shubman Gill (43) looked in good touch as he hit five boundaries during his 49-ball innings to give India a decent start but captain Dhawan (13) found the going tough at the other end.
Dhawan was the first to depart with Mayers producing a stunning catch at third man off the bowling of Romario Shepherd.
Mayers then pegged India back with two quick wickets, first getting rid off a well-set Gill and then removing Suryakumar Yadav (9), who once again dragged one to his stumps.
Iyer and Samson tried to take the chase deep with a 99-run partnership off 94 balls but once both departed, India still needed 105 runs from 11 overs.
It was the Patel show after that as he kept fighting despite losing Hooda and Shardul Thakur.
Earlier, Hope played the role of an anchor to perfection as he added 65 runs with opener Mayers (39), before forging another 62-run stand with Shamarh Brooks (35).
Hope then found his perfect ally in skipper Pooran as the two shared a 117-run stand. Hope, who was dismissed cheaply in first ODI, hit eight fours and three maximums in his 135-ball 115-run knock.
For India, spin duo of Patel (1/40) and Hooda (1/42) were economical but Yuzvendra Chahal (1/69) was expensive as he was smashed for six sixes and two fours.
Mohammed Siraj (0/47) bowled well but Avesh Khan (0/54 in 6 overs) had a forgettable ODI debut, while Thakur (3/54) made amends in the back end with three wickets.
Hope looked in full flow as he played some exquisite shots on the off side before reaching the three figure mark in his 100th ODI game with a six in the 45th over.
West Indies amassed 93 runs in last 10 overs.
"Hope's innings was impressive, it was exceptional as a batting group. We wanna win, we wanna win pretty bad in the next game. That's all we are aiming for," said Pooran
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Standoff between Delhi, Shimla police after arrest of 3 Youth Congress activists
_vb_00.jpeg)
Shimla/New Delhi (PTI): In an ugly face-off, Himachal Pradesh police on Wednesday registered a kidnapping case against Delhi police personnel and "detained" their vehicles at the Shogi border near Shimla when they were heading back to the national capital with three Youth Congress members arrested in connection with the "shirtless protest" at the AI Summit.
"A case has been registered against 15-20 unknown people in plain clothes for forcibly taking three people staying in a resort in Rohru. They also took the CCTV installed in the resort with them and did not give any receipt," a statement issued by the Shimla police said.
The Delhi police had earlier on Wednesday said it had arrested three Youth Congress activists in connection with the February 20 protest at AI Impact Summit from a hotel in Chirgaon area of Rohru subdivision of Himachal's Shimla district.
Saurabh, Siddharth and Arbaz were apprehended by the Special Cell of Delhi Police. They were produced before a local court, which granted transit remand to enable the police to bring them to Delhi for further questioning, an official of the Delhi police said in the national capital.
Himachal Police sources claimed they intercepted three vehicles in Shimla and Solan districts and brought them back to Shimla as the Delhi police had not taken transit remand.
Both the Shimla police and the Delhi police accused each other of hampering the investigation.
The sources in Himachal Pradesh police claimed the team from Delhi carried out the operation in Shimla without informing the local police.
Acting on this, Himachal Pradesh police intercepted three vehicles carrying the accused -- who are reportedly not residents of Himachal Pradesh -- and Delhi Police personnel.
Two vehicles were stopped in Shimla, while the third was intercepted near Dharampur in Solan district. Around 20 people, including police personnel, were detained, the source said.
The Delhi police personnel again tried to leave for the national capital but were intercepted at Shogi border on Wednesday night on the road to Chandigarh and not allowed to leave.
In a video that appeared from the Shogi border in the suburbs of Shimla city, the Delhi police officers were heard saying that they had arrested three people in the morning in connection with an FIR registered on February 20.
VIDEO | Shimla: A jurisdiction dispute has erupted after the Delhi Police detained three Youth Congress workers in connection with an AI Summit protest pic.twitter.com/H7o7eaYOb8
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) February 25, 2026
"We have to produce the accused arrested at 5 am today in the court in 24 hours, and you have stopped us after registering an FIR at 8 pm," an officer of the Delhi police said.
However, the Shimla police officers maintained that a case of abduction has been registered and the Delhi police is hampering the investigation.
They alleged that the Delhi police carried out an illegal operation at Rohru without informing the local police and no papers of arrest were shown.
"I asked you for a legal document in the morning, but neither have you shown any document nor the FIR number and nor have you taken the transit remand," the officer of Shimla police is heard saying.
The "shirtless" protest at Bharat Mandapam on February 20 had triggered a major security response, with police earlier invoking charges including rioting and promoting enmity under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
Indian Youth Congress president Uday Bhanu Chib and former national spokesperson Bhudev Sharma were arrested in connection with the case on Tuesday. Both were produced before a Delhi court and remanded to police custody for interrogation.
According to the Delhi police, a total of 11 people have been arrested so far.
Earlier, on Saturday midnight, Delhi Police had raided Himachal Sadan in the national capital amid reports that Youth Congress workers who had participated in the protest were provided accommodation there.
Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu had termed the action "unfortunate and against constitutional procedure".
A Delhi court on Wednesday extended by four days the police custody of five of the arrested in the case.
Arguing that the incident was not spontaneous but executed after prior planning, the Delhi police said that the initial probe revealed structured allocation of roles, concealment tactics and coordinated post-incident movement.
It, however, said that the entire conspiracy, including its hierarchy, funding and inter-state coordination, needed to be unearthed.
Chief Judicial Magistrate Mridul Gupta extended the custodial interrogation of the accused -- Krishna Hari, national secretary of the Youth Congress from Bihar; Kundan Yadav, state general secretary of Bihar; Ajay Kumar Singh, state vice-president of eastern Uttar Pradesh; and Narasimha Yadav, national coordinator of IYC from Telangana.
Meanwhile, the Delhi police on Wednesday denied permission to the Delhi Youth Congress to hold a dharna at Jantar Mantar in national capital on February 26, citing short notice and prevailing law and order concerns.
The Delhi Youth Congress had called the dharna on Thursday against the police action on IYC members who had taken part in the February 20 protest.
