Axar Patel plays a shot during the 4th day of the fourth test cricket match between India and Australia, in Ahmedabad, March 12, 2023. (Photo | PTI)
AHMEDABAD: Axar Patel has made 17.5 per cent of all runs India has made in the ongoing four-match Test series against Australia (excluding the second innings at New Delhi). Virat Kohli's 186 rightly hogged the limelight in Ahmedabad on Sunday but it was hard to miss the finesse and the unhurried nature of Patel's batting. His 113-ball 79 helped the hosts to pick up the run rate when they went in search of quick runs late on the fourth day.
One of the features of the southpaw's batting has been the way he's set up to hit spin. All through the series he has not only been prepared to take on the spinners but has pumped them for six with minimal fuss. He obviously is known as a bit of a six-hitter against spin thanks to the impetus on lower-order runs in white-ball cricket but he's transferred that skill to red-ball cricket. He marries boundary-hitting with sound defensive technique, both off the front and back foot.
"When we started with the camp in Nagpur, we knew we would be playing on turning tracks," he said after the day's play when asked about his batting in the series. "I didn't prepare or plan much but did my own study for playing on spinning tracks. I just prepare myself to stand on the leg stump to keep a check on possible leg-befores and stumpings. I also planned to not step out much against off-spinners."
That's true. Because of his long levers, he's able to access the ball without many problems. On Sunday, he scored 22 runs in boundaries in the mid-wicket region (three sixes and one four), all of them via the effective slog sweep shot. Patel's immediate concern is the final day. With the pitch refusing to break up, chances of the game petering into a draw are very high but he's refusing to give up the ghost.
"It's cricket. Anything can happen anytime. If we get 2-3 wickets early tomorrow (Monday), they might play defensive under pressure. It's (pitch) not like it was in the first three matches so we just can't go and run over them. You have to work hard and keep patience and keep bowling in the right areas."
