CHENNAI: On June 29, 2024, when Axar Patel walked out to bat at the Kensington Oval, Barbados, the occasion could not have been bigger. India versus South Africa. Men's T20 World Cup final. Scoreboard read 3/34 in 4.3 overs. Over the next nine overs, Axar ensured that India did not lose the momentum while allowing Virat Kohli to be the anchor.
Even as Kohli walked away with the player of the final award, it is hard to look past Axar as the one who not just saved but changed the game towards India during the first innings. However, Axar and the Indian team knew it was just the first of many such occasions where the all-rounder could deliver under pressure for the team.
Having been under the shadow of Ravindra Jadeja for the better part of his career, Axar, in the last year and a half, has created a shadow of his own. He is not just India's first-choice all-rounder but the trusted vice-captain in T20Is and the No 5 in the 50-over format.
In fact, when he was moved up the order despite having KL Rahul, it seemed like a move as a floater to have the left-right combination in the middle. It still is the case at some level, but obviously, there is more to it. For Axar is not just an utility bat who can throw off opposition plans and match-ups but also someone who has shown that he is capable of changing the game with the bat in a short span of time.
Now, when India tried this move through the England series and even the league stages of the Champions Trophy, it seemed like ticking bomb waiting to explode at a crunch situation. Rahul had not looked home at No 6 and the fixation of a left-right combination felt like an issue that could come back to bite India.
Even on Tuesday, as Axar walked out bat, the match was still in the balance. India were 134/3, chasing 265 with half an innings to go. Out in the middle was Kohli who had just gotten a reprieve but Australia were rotating the spinners to keep the run rate in check. That is where Axar came in. Having him in the middle meant, Steve Smith could no longer just bowl Tanveer Sangha, Copper Connolly and Adam Zampa in rotation. All three bring the ball into the left-hander and Australia were forced to bring on Glenn Maxwell.
He negated the off-spin with ease while taking on Sangha for a maximum. Another four came of Maxwell, but it was not just about the counterattack. Axar was in the middle for about eight overs and in this time, without any fuss, he had made 27 runs while adding 44 to the tally with Kohli. A phase that allowed KL Rahul and Hardik Pandya to play the situation rather than soak in the pressure the moment the walked onto the field.
Axar's role is not to bat 30 overs and take India home but instead get them out of trouble whenever deemed necessary, while allowing the batter at other end to flourish. When this match is looked back years down the line, it will be about Varun Chakravarthy taking down Travis Head or Virat Kohli's brilliance in the chase or even Rahul's redemption in getting India home. But beneath all this was Axar who quietly came in and did the job for his team.
"That is something that we wanted from him. And the clear message was given to him when we started the ODI series against England, that no matter what the situation is, you will bat at 5. And the kind of improvement he's shown with his bat over the last year or so is superb to watch. And that is where we felt that we can utilize him to bat in the middle and bat freely. And that is what he does. He likes to take the game on, and likes to play his shots.
"And sometimes you are in trouble, you want to always take that positive route. And with Axar, we definitely can do that. He showed it in the T20 World Cup final, which was a crucial knock. And that is what we expect. Whenever he's gotten an opportunity, he's shown that he can do just a bit more than what we expect him to do. And he's upped his game in terms of his batting," Rohit Sharma had explained earlier.
And that is what India would want from him come Sunday as they inch closer towards winning another ICC title.
