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After India's win over England in the semifinal of the T20 World Cup, former Indian cricketer Sunil Gavaskar spoke on all-rounder Axar Patel's fantastic fielding effort, saying that he is filling in the void left by Ravindra Jadeja well and will be one of India's greats when its all said and done.
While it was Sanju Samson's magnificent 89, which continued a redemption, 'Starboy' Jacob Bethell's counter-attacking century in a tense 254 run chase and Jasprit Bumrah's economical spell of 1/33 that made headlines, it was also Axar's two incredible catches which played a massive role in sealing India's win. The first one was a superb grab to dismiss England skipper Harry Brook while running back, and the other one was a relay catch involving all-rounder Shivam Dube to remove Will Jacks, breaking a raging 77-run stand for the fifth wicket between him and Bethell. Speaking on Star Sport's 'Amul Cricket Live', Gavaskar lauded Axar's cricketing intelligence, which came to the forefront during the relay catch with Dube and how his line, length and speed as a bowler are improving year-by-year. "Axar Patel's catch to dismiss Harry Brook was unbelievable. Brook can take the game away, and you have to grab every chance to get his wicket, and Axar did that. He ran 24 meters away from his fielding spot, kept his eyes on the ball, balanced himself, and took the catch. Unbelievable stuff. He also played a key role in Will Jacks' dismissal. The Bethell-Jacks partnership was taking the game away. But Axar ran to his left, grabbed the ball, and smartly passed it to Shivam Dube. That shows great cricketing intelligence," said Gavaskar. "At the highest level, temperament separates the greats from the good. With his batting and bowling, Axar is going to be one of India's great players. We had Ravindra Jadeja before him, and Axar is filling that void well. His bowling needs a little more polish. That will come with experience. His line, length, and speed are improving every year. The vice-captaincy means he is thinking about everyone's game, not just his own. That is great for his growth," he added. The 'Little Master' was also in awe of Bumrah's spell of 1/33 in four overs when the majority of the bowlers were smashed at an economy rate of above 10, calling him a "once in a century" bowler. "Jasprit Bumrah is not just a once-in-a-generation bowler. He is a once-in-a-century kind of bowler. Because he plays all formats. Test matches, 50-over games, T20s. You give him the ball, he will deliver. Yes, there might be the odd match where he goes for runs. That is understandable. He is human after all. But more often than not, when it matters, Bumrah will bowl that crucial over. It might not always be a wicket-taking over. But he will give just seven or eight runs when others are going for 15 or 20," he concluded. Put to bat first, a fiery knock from Sanju Samson (89* in 42 balls, with eight fours and seven sixes) and cameos from Shivam Dube (43 in 25 balls, with a four and four sixes), Ishan Kishan (39 in 18 balls, with four boundaries), Hardik Pandya (27 in 12 balls, with three fours and two sixes) and Tilak Varma (21 in seven balls, with three sixes) took India to 253/7 in 20 overs. Despite having England down at 95/4, India could not dominate them as Jacob Bethell (105 in 48 balls, with eight fours and seven sixes) and Will Jacks (35 in 20 balls, with four boundaries and two sixes) put a counter-attacking 77-run stand for the fifth wicket. Bethell continued to march on even after Jacks' dismissal and a fiery four-ball cameo of 19 from Jofra Archer took England really close, but not to the finishing line, ending at 246/7. (ANI)
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