Axar Patel Delivers a 100% Masterclass in the World Cup Finals

At times, Rishabh Pant, the wicketkeeper, can be seen teasing from behind the stumps and says to Axar Patel, mimicking, “Jayasuriya, left me ja“. That’s his childhood nickname from his bludgeoning attempts on the flood-lit tennis-ball cricket pitch in Nadiad, 60 km from Ahmedabad. 

The man who never wanted to bowl in his growing-up years but was willing to play for India for his left-arm spin gets to relive his childhood dream here. By the way, Axar Patel was the last person in the 15-member team while there was a nice tussle between him and Washington Sundar, but the selectors didn’t go wrong in relying on Axar to come good. 

Cricket lovers worldwide can say what they want about the final of the 2024 T20 World Cup, but it will always go down in history as a game that saw India beat South Africa on the way to holding the trophy after 13 years of waiting. Still and all, there was another critical display more than the sound of the crowd that gave life to a tired cricket ground or more than Virat Kohli’s 76 runs, Bumrah’s metronomic bowling or even Hardik Pandya’s sensational last over. 

Setting the Stage: India is in a fix in Powerplay

The final of the 2024 T20 World Cup started on a sore note for India – South Africa’s bowlers were on the prowl. This PowerPlay was a stern test as India dropped to 34 for three. Openers Rohit Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav, the pillars of the Indian batting order, returned to the dressing room, but the team was in deep trouble. Such a start put the Indian team behind the 8th ball, and with their key man, Virat Kohli, the side had to fight to negate pressure.

The circumstances required the team management to take a risk by electrically shocking everyone in the dressing room and promoting Axar Patel to the upper order. While considered a calculated risk in the least, this decision was intended to liberate the batters from the drudgery and infuse some energy and vigour into the team’s innings. Perhaps the introduction of the bowler Axar Patel on this occasion began a dramatic change for India, paving the way to one of the best and most unforgettable finals of the World Cup.

Axar Patel’s Crucial Knock

Let us see Axar Patel batting stats now. Axar Patel was picture-perfect regarding the tournament’s pressure, especially in the T20 World Cup 2024 final. Standing at a point when the Indian team was in stew, he immediately started hitting the ball and came up with a belligerent 47 off just 31 balls.

Right from the time he set foot out on the cricket pitch, Axar gave an image of a strong and aggressive cricketer so well supported by Kohli’s calm aggression. While Kohli emphasised gaining 1s and 2s, Axar became the more attacking of the two whenever he cut loose against the South Africans. 

The crucial time for his innings was the eighth over when he was bowling to Aiden Markram. Axar got-swept Markram’s off-spin to deep mid-wicket and for India’s first six of the innings, giving a definite signal of changing the course. He banged Keshav Maharaj for another maximum in the following over, proving that spinners do not cow him down. 

However, Axar Patel career has major turns. His most excellent ball was to one of the world’s leading flying jockeys, Kagiso Rabada. In the 14th over, he deposited Rabada’s length ball over long-on, propelling the projectile 85 meters towards the sight screen. It showed to the world how masterfully he was capable of placing the ball and how forcefully he was capable of hitting the shot, but it also showcased to the world how well he could handle the pressure. 

During his stay at the crease, Axar kept rotating the strike as a quick scorer, pushing the team’s scoring rate up. He scored boundaries in the five different overs, and each time the pressure was built up for the bowler, Kohli could rotate the strike with singles and doubles. 

Opener Axar kept attacking the South African bowlers, which nicely complemented Kohli’s knock. So, along with him, he put together a significant number of innings that set the right target for the South African team to chase.

The Stake of Axar’s Performance

In the final of the 2024 T20 World Cup, one must mention the spectacular hit by Axar Patel, which he did with one of the world’s fastest bowlers, Kagiso Rabada. In the 14th over, the Indians were in need of a boost in terms of scoring, and Axar showed great cricketing brains and spirit. He experienced a length ball from Rabada, and in a perfectly-lofted straight drive, he hit the ball and made it fly 85 meters over long-on and beyond the sight screen. 

This shot was a capital demonstration of power; it was an announcement. Rohit Sharma, Rishabh Pant, and Surya Kumar Yadav were all back in the pavilion, and the Indian batting lineup was under tremendous pressure. That Axar could go back on his front foot and get into such an excellent position to hit such a destructor against the Rabada kind of bowling impressed me most. It was the classic moment of crickets when technique involved timing, power, and precision. 

Axar’s six was a match-changing moment that put India at the top. It demonstrated his ability to perform under pressure and become victorious during critical hours.

The Bottom Line

Axar Patel’s technique in the T20 World Cup 2024 finals was not just runs but tactical strokes, which proved crucial for India. Axar Patel cricket career has been a mind blowing horizon. His batting when India had lost many big batting names, axar, his aggressive yet intelligent batting got batting got the team’s much-needed momentum. For more such content and updates, follow us at usholic.com.