New Delhi: It was a different format today but he didn’t fail to prove his worth with the bat under tough circumstances. While Shreyas Iyer and Shubman Gill stood out with sensational batting skills after India lost two wickets early in chase in opening ODI against England, Axar Patel’s gritty knock under pressure proved to be show stealer in India’s 4-wicket win vs England in Nagpur.
While the all-rounder has majorly proved his might with his classic left-arm orthodox bowling but in the recent times, the master of all formats is doing the same with his bat as well. After Iyer helped India out of danger and subsequently lost his wicket, it wasn’t easy for Axar to come on to the crease and continue from where the seasoned campaigner had left but he did it in absolute confidence and style notching up a valiant half-century.
Is Axar the new crisis man for India?
The talented all-rounder from Gujarat is certainly turning out to be the crisis man for India as he has proved it practically in recent time with some match-saving performances for the blues across formats. What the likes of KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja and veteran Ravichandran Ashwin used to do for the Indian cricket team is been taken care of by Axar Patel.
Axar’s 52-run knock off just 47 deliveries in the Nagpur ODI was a small exhibition of his spectacle that he has been proving to be for the Indian team. Axar previously played a pivotal role in with his twin knocks of 84 and 74 in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia while he chipped in a quick 57 off just 31 balls in the critical T20 World Cup 2024 finale against South Africa, proving his ability in all the three formats.
Team’s faith in Axar proves it all
After the dismissal of Iyer, which left India at 113/3, things could have turned in any direction as the hosts still needed 136 runs more to win but the head coach, skipper and entire team showed their faith in Axar promoting him ahead of the seasoned Rahul and the flamboyant Hardik Pandya, who holds a proven track record in such circumstances. While the idea behind promoting Axar was also to keep the left-right combination ticking and the momentum going but his capability was definitely a big reason for his promotion.
The talented all-rounder proved his worth and did not disappoint the team as he played a superlative knock in front of a disciplined English bowling line up, where the likes of sensational Yashasvi Jaiswal and skipper Rohit Sharma failed. In the talented Axar Patel, Team India has definitely found a new saviour who has time and again proved as the silver lining for the side.
Axar Patel smashed 52 runs in just 47 balls as India registered a 4-wicket victory against England to go 1-0 up in the three-match series. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
