Team India lost the second T20I of the three-match series against Sri Lanka on Thursday (January 5). Though India lost the game by 16 runs but Axar Patel won hearts of his fans as he scalped two wickets and smashed 65 runs off 31 balls.
He received a lot of praise from the fans and former cricketers for his exceptional performance. Former India batter Wasim Jaffer also hailed Axar and said that if he continues to perform like this then he can easily fill-in the shoes of star all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, who has been missing from the action after he picked up an injury in Asia Cup 2022.
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“India are not missing Jadeja, who has been a phenomenal player in all three formats. But since India have found Axar Patel, we are not talking too much about Jadeja since he’s been away. Goes on to show how good Axar has come about as a cricketer. Fantastic. At the moment, yes (Axar is India’s No.1 spin all-rounder). India are lucky they have got such a like-for-like replacement (for Jadeja) in Axar Patel. He’s making the most of it in all formats. He can bowl in the powerplay, which I feel Jadeja does not like. Axar can do it. And If he bats like this, it’s debatable,” said Jaffer on ESPNCricinfo.
Further, Jaffer praised Axar for his improvements with the bat and also appreciated his technique.
“In the last game also, he’s contributed immensely with the bat. Today (Thursday), he again showed how much he has improved. Massive improvements in Axar as a batter. He’s got a pretty good technique. We don’t see him slogging too many balls. He’s pretty sure that when he connects, he’s going to go out of the park. He targets the spinners, stands still and hits it pretty straight as well,” he added.
In the second T20I in Pune, team India had won the toss and opted to field first. Things didn’t start well for India as in the second over itself, pacer Arshdeep Singh bowled three consecutive no-balls. Sri Lanka took advantage of it and got off to a good start. Umran Malik (3) and Axar Patel (2) shared five wickets together but Lankan skipper Dasun Shanaka made an unbeaten 56 off 22 balls, while wicket-keeper Kusal Mendis had hit a 31-ball 52 to power Sri Lanka to an imposing 206 for 6.
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While chasing, India’s top order collapsed as India lost five wickets with just 57 runs on the board. It was then Axar (65), who stitched a 91-run stand with Suryakumar Yadav (51) and brought hopes to the game. However, their efforts went into vain as Sri Lanka got their hold back and Team India got restricted at 190/8.
The series is currently levelled at 1-1 and now both the teams will square off against each other in the third and final T20I match on Saturday (January 7) in Rajkot.
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