Former Indian batter Suresh Raina showered praise on Axar Patel’s performance in the fourth T20I against Australia at Gold Coast on Thursday. Patel returned with impressive figures of 2-20 in his quota of four overs, accounting for Matthew Short and Josh Inglis.
The left-arm reaped rewards for attacking the stumps and was awarded Player of the Match for his all-round performance. Raina highlighted that Patel bowled a total of 12 balls in his spell and the former batter said it was fantastic.
Moreover, Patel’s cameo of 11-ball 21 was able to propel India to a competitive total of 167 after the visitors were put into bat by Mitchell Marsh.
The left-hander smashed a four and six and scored his runs at a blistering strike rate of 190.91.
“When Matthew Short was batting, he was looking in a different rhythm. Axar came and got him out first and then he got Josh Inglis out. The momentum started from there only. If we talk about batting, he scored crucial runs in the last few overs. He has been doing well for a very long time,” Suresh Raina said on Star Sports.
“He picked up two wickets and conceded only 20 runs in his four overs. To bowl 12 dot balls at that time was fantastic bowling by Axar Patel. He showed why he bowls stump to stump. He always bowls positively and looks to pick up wickets. Everyone together won the game, but I feel India won because of Axar’s crucial runs and the two wickets he picked,” he added.
On the other hand, Parthiv Patel picked Axar Patel as India’s best bowler as he feels the all-rounder came to bowl when there was pressure.
“Axar Patel definitely, considering the way he bowled. He came to bowl under pressure. He came to bowl in the powerplay, where it seemed like Matthew Short was in form, and he had got momentum. He got a set batter out. If one looks at the wickets, one would say Washington Sundar. He bowled just eight balls and picked up three wickets,” he said.
“Axar showed once again that he can bat at every number. If we talk about the T20 World Cup final, he batted up the order, and he scored almost a fifty. Here, when he had to play a cameo and give India a good finish with big shots, he did that as well, and we know he can bowl in every phase. He proved once again why he is an extremely valuable player in this format,” Parthiv observed.
The fifth and final T20I of the series between Australia and India will be played at the Gabba, Brisbane, on Saturday.
