MUMBAI: Axar Patel was not a part of the playing XI in both the games India played in Ahmedabad during the ongoing T20 World Cup. He may be from Nadiad, but Ahmedabad is his home ground. After all, he is the Bapu of this Indian cricket team. He is yet to play a WC game in his home state. In 2023, a last-minute injury meant he missed out on the entire ODI World Cup, and earlier this month, the vice-captain did not feature in either of the games.
Put it all together, there was no way he was going to finish this World Cup without playing in front of his friends and young family, including his son, at his home ground. And it showed on Thursday as the Gujarat all-rounder quietly stole the show with two catches of the tournament, tilting the balance towards India as they edged past England by seven runs in the semifinal at Wankhede.
Speaking to reporters after the matches, Axar explained what it means to play in Ahmedabad, especially in a World Cup final. Come Sunday, expect the entire city of Nadiad to be in Ahmedabad. cheering for him during the final against New Zealand.
"I think that is why I didn't play two matches. It is very important for me. I have been waiting for so many years. It is a very proud moment to play a match in front of your family on the home ground. I think after two years, I will be playing on the home ground. And that too, the final of the ICC T20 World Cup T20. I think my son will also watch my first match live. And that's what I am very proud of," said Axar, beaming with pride.
To make that happen, Axar had to take not one but two blinders during the second innings at Wankhede. First, the catch to dismiss Harry Brook off Jasprit Bumrah, where he ran back from cover to the deep and took a diving catch. The second — perhaps, was more important in the context of the match — where he ran along the deep boundary to complete a relay catch alongside Shivam Dube. It will go down as the catch that never will be. The scorecard read Will Jacks c Dube b Arshdeep Singh, but it was Axar who covered the distance, took the catch and lobbed the ball towards Dube as he fell over the ropes.
"The momentum of both was different," Axar explained. "When I caught Brook's first catch, it was a very good catch for me. It was tough. But if you look at the situation and the way the batters were batting, then when I caught Jacks' catch, it was very important to break the partnership at that time. So, it's very tough for me, but if you ask me, fielding-wise, the catch I catch of Brook was tough," he added.
Like Samson, Axar, too, credited Arshdeep and Bumrah for taking the game deep as their premium death bowlers finished the quota of overs before the 18th over. He also added that the margin of wins does not matter as long as the plans are executed and they get across the line. "It is important to us that we have delivered our plan. How many balls we have executed, whether we are bowling or batting, matters a lot. If we hadn't made a mistake here, we could have made 20 more runs. In 120 balls, if we bowl 2-3 balls here and there, trying to do something different, where you feel you have to do something when the wicket is not falling. If we go for runs in trying something different, we would have talked about that. In the end, the 2-3 runs also matter. We don’t think about the margins. So, reaching the final is very important. What people say in the team is very important. The way our campaign started at this very venue, we kept talking positively. I was here then, I am here now. A lot has changed," said Axar.
Asked if the jinx of Ahmedabad and the Indian team — the hosts lost the ODI World Cup final at the venue to Australia — will finally end, Axar, in his inimitable style, laughed: “Back then, home-grown player (referring to himself) wasn’t there, but now the jinx will be broken.”
