Former Pakistan’s gun fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar believes Axar Patel could become the fastest to take 100 Test wickets if he keeps going at this rate.
Patel had a dream start to his Test career against England after he was picked in the absence of all-rounder RavindraJadeja, who missed out due to a thumb injury.
The left-arm orthodox spinner from Gujarat, scalped 27 wickets in three Test matches against England at an impressive average of 10.59 as he breathed down the neck of the English batsmen with his arm delivery. Patel returned with figures of 2-40, 5-60, 6-38, 5-32, 4-68, 6-48 in the six innings he bowled.
Thus, the 27-year old spinner bagged a total of four five-wicket hauls in the six innings. On the other hand, former England medium-fast bowler George Lohmann holds the record of taking the fastest 100 Test wickets. Lohmann had reached the milestone in 16 Test matches and finished his career with 112 wickets in 18 matches at an average of 10.75.
Meanwhile, Patel’s 27 wickets are the most for any debutant player, for bowlers who played a maximum of three Test matches. Sri Lanka’s Ajanta Mendis had snared 26 wickets against India back in 2008.
“Not only did he (Axar Patel) get a suitable wicket to bowl on, but he is an intelligent bowler too. He wouldn’t have given a chance to the English players when the control was in his hands, and that is what he did. If he keeps getting a few series like this, he might just become the fastest bowler to 100 wickets. Having said that, England should have played him better,” Akhtar said while speaking on his YouTube Channel.
Akhtar added that it was an embarrassing defeat for the visitors who had taken a 1-0 lead after winning the first Test match by a margin of 227 runs. However, England couldn’t compete in the last three Test matches as they failed to put up decent batting performances on challenging turning tracks.
“It was an embarrassing defeat for the England team, and they have got a reality check in India. But they need to now learn the art of playing spin in the sub-continent well. Not sure, how are they going to lift themselves up from this humiliating defeat and motivate themselves to play better,” Akhtar said.
With an innings and 25 runs win in the fourth Test, India has secured their place in the final of the World Test Championship. The two teams will lock horns in the five-match T20I series, starting 12th March at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad.
