WI vs IND 2022 | IPL and domestic cricket keep us ready for big stages, proclaims Shikhar Dhawan

Keeping a jam-packed schedule here and there in mind, the Indian cricket team, since last year's Sri Lanka tour, decided to utilise their talented pool of players as much as possible. Whenever there is a thin break between two series, they create two squads for two separate assignments. Likewise, the Men in Blue's second-string team, led by Shikhar Dhawan, is currently in West Indies for the three-match ODI series which they won with an entertaining two-wicket win on Sunday.

There, at the Queen's Park Oval, West Indies rode on Shai Hope's 135-ball 115 and Nicholas Pooran's 77-ball 74 to reach 311/6 after opting to bat. In reply, India's Shubman Gill (43 off 49 balls), Shreyas Iyer (63 off 71 balls), and Sanju Samson (54 off 51 balls) kept their side in the hunt but they still required 100 more runs in the final 10 overs to take an unassailable 2-0 lead. Then Axar Patel took charge, scoring an unbeaten 35-ball 64 with five sixes and three fours to see off the target with two balls and two wickets to spare. Debutant Avesh Khan, despite making a little impact with the ball, added 10 handy runs in the end.

Speaking at the post-match presentation, Dhawan lauded his teammates for pulling off a remarkable victory on Sunday. Then, he went on to credit IPL and India's domestic cricket for their impressive show even in front of away crowds.

"I feel it was a great team performance. We made mistakes, we took the challenge and we had self-belief. I was also surprised. Hats off to our middle order. All the batters were amazing, Axar and Avesh, who got those boundaries, were amazing. Our domestic and IPL cricket keeps us ready as we play in front of big crowds," Dhawan said at the post-match presentation ceremony.

"At the halfway stage, we felt we pulled them. We got a couple of wickets, and then Hope and Pooran took off. We thought we can do it if they can. We started slowly, I thought we could take off against left-arm spin. I got out, and Shreyas and Sanju played well. There was a silly mistake with the runout. But the way Axar played was amazing."

Now, India will be looking to complete the sweep by beating West Indies on July 27 at the same time in the third and final ODI.