AHMEDABAD: If Axar Patel wouldn’t have been a cricketer, a champion dart thrower would’ve been an apt alternative. The 27-year-old’s ability to send the ball right where it needs to land, especially with some great variations in pace, is turning him into a very special asset right now.
Days after he picked up an impressive five-wicket haul in the second Test at Chennai, he followed it up with a 6-38 in Ahmedabad on Wednesday, running through England‘s top and middle-order with precision and control.
There was turn available on the pitch and there was some bit of pace too. Patel, who was brought in early after the pace bowlers were finding it difficult to land their foot because of some unevenness around the crease and the ball skidding away, made use of the pitch and turn to make England pay for winning the toss.
“The ball was skidding a lot. So, adding pace to it helped,” he said after the day’s play.
01:553rd Test, Day 1: Axar, Rohit put India on top against England in pink-ball Test
Having begun his career as a pacer and then switching to spin, because of a knee injury years ago, Patel has never let go of his ability to whip the red ball at will. The pink ball became that much easier, given the freshly laid wicket and the paint and texture on the ball that allowed it to zip in faster.
“I’ve learnt it over a period of time,” he said, talking about the arm-ball he’s been using with distinction. “I had worked a bit on it with Venkat sir,” he added, referring to spin-bowling coach M Venkataramana. Bowling line and length has time and again worked for Patel, irrespective of the format. “That’s what I prefer to do (bowl line and length) when the ball starts skidding,” he insisted.
That’s precisely what he did in Chennai and here once again.
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In Pics: Axar, Rohit put India on top against England in pink-ball Test
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Spinner Axar Patel claimed a career-best 6-38 as India bundled out England for 112 on the opening day to put themselves in the box seat in the day-night third Test in Ahmedabad on Wednesday. (BCCI Photo)
Rohit Sharma then helped the hosts weather a top-order wobble of their own and finish an eventful 13-wicket day on 99-3. Rohit was batting on 57 at stumps with Ajinkya Rahane on one at the other end with India eyeing a handy first-innings lead. (BCCI Photo)
Earlier, Joe Root’s decision to bat backfired as the tourists folded in 48.4 overs inside two seasons despite Zak Crawley’s stroke-filled 53. Crawley dealt mostly in boundaries and brought up his fifty off 68 balls. (BCCI Photo)
Playing his 100th Test, seamer Ishant Sharma dismissed Dom Sibley in the third over before the spinners took over. (ANI Photo)
Before Crawley’s partnership with Root could really flourish, R Ashwin (3-26) intervened. The wily off-spinner dismissed Root lbw for 17. The England captain reviewed the decision but could not get it overturned. (BCCI Photo)
Patel ended Crawley’s knock in similar fashion to trigger a batting collapse and England lost their last eight wickets for 38 runs. (BCCI Photo)
India did not find scoring easy either against the swinging pink ball in the final session. The usually fluent Shubman Gill took 27 balls to open his account while Rohit mixed caution with occasional aggression in his unbeaten fifty. (BCCI Photo)
Jofra Archer dismissed Gill for 11 and Jack Leach removed Cheteshwar Pujara for a duck but Rohit’s 64-run partnership with Virat Kohli helped India maintain their upper hand in the contest. (BCCI Photo)
Ollie Pope dropped Kohli at gully but Leach dismissed him when the India captain chopped a delivery onto his stumps to depart for 27 in the final over. (BCCI Photo)
Around 40,000 fans thronged the world’s largest cricket stadium which was named after India Prime Minister Narendra Modi. (TOI Photo)
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