West Indies defeated Afghanistan by 47 runs in the second ODI to take an unassailable lead of 2-0 in the three-match series. Wicketkeeper-batsman Nicholas Pooran was declared Player of the Match.

Earlier, Afghanistan had won the toss and opted to bowl at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow.

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Chasing a target of 248, Afghanistan were all out for 200 with Sheldon Cottrell, Roston Chase and Hayden Walsh taking three wickets each.

On Saturday, West Indies got off to a blazing start with a 98-run opening stand between Shai Hope and Evin Lewis. However, their middle-order collapsed and the visitors were soon reduced to 182 for 6 in the space of just under 20 overs.

However, Nicholas Pooran then came to their rescue with a swashbuckling knock that saw him put up a 50-run stand with Romario Shepherd. Shepherd scored just six runs in his innings while Pooran scored 67 off 50 balls to take West Indies close to 250.

During the chase, Afghanistan looked to be on track with a 53-run second wicket partnership between Rahmat Shah and Hazratullah Zazai.

Afghanistan’s run rate then went down to snail’s pace as Chase then took three wickets to run through the spine Afghanistan’s batting order. The next major stand was for the sixth wicket with Mohammad Nabi and Najibullah Zadran adding up 68 runs.

Wickets fell at regular intervals for Afghanistan and the West Indies bundled out them in the 46th over.

Notably, the West Indies had won the first ODI on Wednesday by seven wickets which means that they have now confirmed victory in the three-match series. The third ODI between the sides will be played on November 11 and this will be followed by a three-match T20I series in Lucknow.

After this, West Indies will remain in the country for a limited overs series against India that will consist of three T20Is and as many ODIs.

Brief scores: West Indies 247 for 9 (Nicholas Pooran 67, Evin Lewis 54; Naveen-ul-Haq 3 for 60) defeated Afghanistan 200 (Najibullah Zadran 56, Rahmat Shah 33; Sheldon Cottrell 3 for 29) by 47 runs.