"Bapu sehat ke liye tu to haanikaarak hai" - Aakash Chopra lauds Axar Patel's match-winning knock in India's second ODI vs West Indies

Aakash Chopra has lauded Axar Patel for playing a scintillating match-winning knock in the second ODI between India and the West Indies.

Axar smoked an unbeaten 64 off just 35 balls at the Queen's Park Oval in Port of Spain, Trinidad, on Sunday, July 24. His belligerent knock helped the Men in Blue chase down a 312-run target to seal the three-match series before the final game at the same venue.

The cricketer-turned-commentator was all praise for Axar, who is fondly called 'Bapu', while reviewing the game in a video shared on his YouTube channel.

He said:

"Bapu sehat ke liye tu to haanikaarak hai. Axar Patel, where are your feet, because it was worth staying awake through the night and watching the match. He won the match by hitting a six at the end, scored the first fifty of his career."[sic]

Chopra picked the spin-bowling all-rounder as his Player of the Match. The cricketer-turned-commentator reasoned:

"The Player of the Match, there are a lot of contenders, I am going with Axar Patel, he has been phenomenal. When Sanju Samson got out, it seemed it was over. Axar was there with Hooda, I thought it can be scored, but can so many runs be scored because 10-11 runs per over were needed." [sic]

Axar joined Deepak Hooda in the middle following Sanju Samson's dismissal, with Team India needing 107 runs in 11.2 overs with five wickets in hand. The duo strung together a 51-run partnership in less than six overs to keep the visitors' hopes alive.

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"It seemed Axar Patel is actually a proper batter" - Aakash Chopra

Axar Patel is generally more renowned for his bowling

Chopra pointed out that Axar's exploits with the bat made it seem like he was a specialist batter. He observed:

"He just smashed. His bat was striking the ball so well that it seemed Axar Patel is actually a proper batter, he is a batter, he is not a bowler at all. He was absolutely phenomenal."

The former cricketer concluded by praising the Delhi Capitals all-rounder for holding his nerve in the crunch moments. He opined:

"One more thing I liked was how he held his nerves. He kept at it, Avesh was there with him, who was not able to score runs, but he (Axar) was cool, calm and collected, waiting for a bad ball, which came, a Kyle Mayers full toss which was hit for a straight six and India won the match."

Axar and Avesh Khan added 24 runs for the eighth wicket in three overs before the latter was dismissed off the last ball of the penultimate over. With Team India needing six runs off their last three deliveries, Axar smashed a full toss from Kyle Mayers for a maximum to complete the chase.