‘Axar patel hona asan nahi’- Twitter in awe of Axar Patel after his sensational all-round performance against Sri Lanka
Axar Patel almost pulled off a miraculous chase for India with a 20-ball fifty.
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Jan 6, 2023 12:31 pm
Axar Patel (Source: Twitter)
India and Sri Lanka locked horns against each other at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune for the second 20-20 game. The Men in Blue won the toss and chose to bowl first. The Indian bowling was pear-shaped, especially Arshadeep Singh, who was smashed for 37 runs in his two overs. Shivam Mavi went for 53 runs off his four overs.
The bright spot for India was Axar Patel who starred with the ball as he picked up 2-24 in his four overs. He picked up Pathum Nissaka who was looking dangerous as he made a stroke-filled 33 off 35 balls with four fours.
While batting in the second innings, When India slumped to 57-5 because of a top-order collapse. Axar came in and forged a much-needed partnership with Suryakumar Yadav. He made a counter-attacking 65 off 31 balls with three fours and six sixes. This gave India a sniff at the mammoth total that Sri Lanka had put up. Axar smashed the bowlers with disdain and put Sri Lanka’s bowler’s under pressure but in the end the Lankan’s came back well.
Axar has come leaps and bounds with his batting and he is proving to be a great lower-order option for India as he adds depth and gives a valuable left-handed option. He has been fulfilling Ravindra Jadeja’s role across formats. He has also added new dimensions to his bowling by adding flight to his deliveries in addition to his deadly non-turning ball.
Jadeja has been out of the India side with a knee injury. It remains to be seen when he will make a comeback into the Indian side. As of now, Axar is filling in the big shoes of Jadeja with game-changing contributions with both bat and ball. He is also repaying the faith shown by the Indian Team management.
He has scored 267 runs in 39 T20s. He has picked up 36 wickets with the ball. He has made full use of the limited opportunities that he has had in T20Is. His performances have given the selectors and management a headache. He has made his own in the shortest format and also been an asset to India in Test Cricket.
Twitter was abuzz, let us take a look at the reactions here:
Fearless #axarpatel scored maiden T20i fifty in just 20 balls and with ball 2/24runs what a fantastic knock under pressure India lost the match but he won every #cricketlover#hearts
All-rounder Axar Patel has broken the record for registering the highest T201 score by an Indian batting at number seven. He scored 65(31) in India's second T201 against Sri Lanka. The previous record was set by all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, who scored 44*(23) against Australia. pic.twitter.com/H7wz0DqcJY
Axar Patel is enhancing his reputation with every match. All-round, was the best player on the park today. 2-24 in a 206 game, then 65(31) is as good as it can be.
