Living up to his nickname ‘Bapu’, Axar Patel so far has been pretty much shouldering the weight of India’s batting with the other senior all-rounders in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar series.
Axar Patel once more showed his prowess with the bat as he notched a crucial 74 to help India escape danger and get close to the Australian total of 263. He was aptly complimented by Ashwin as the duo stitched a 114-run stand. However, all the focus now remains on the bowling department on day 3 which is known to be the game decider.
“Be consistent as long as I have the form on my side”- Axar Patel
Addressing the press post-match, Axar Patel told if they are able to restrict Australia to a score of 220-250, that would be a reasonable total to attempt to get in the Delhi Test.
“If we can get them out quickly, that would be great. I feel if we could stop them around 220-250, then that would be a good target if we’re batting on the fourth day. For that, we would need to bowl well. Because the wicket is getting slow as you keep on using it. For that, we would need to put in the effort. It won’t be easy getting wickets. So, we need to keep bowling well,” said Axar Patel.
It’s all about the day and your confidence level. So these things are minor. I’m coming in from white-ball cricket and in the first game also I was in good nick. I’m just carrying it forward. When you’re in good form it is important to convert it. My thing is to be consistent as long as I have form on my side.” he added
Rise in Test cricket
Ever since his Test debut in England back in 2021, the all-rounder has been taking big strides in the longest format catching up with some of the world’s best in his side. Having entered the side as a bowling all-rounder Axar boasts of 48 wickets* with a healthy average of 15.45 in the 9 matches he has played so far in the Indian jersey.
Combine it with his batting capabilities, and there you have the perfect man to be India’s best Test all-rounder, However his best has come out in the ongoing series. The 29-year-old scored 84 runs to bail India out of trouble in the first test and replicated it with a match defining 74 off 115 this time.