When we made 170, we knew that we made 10-15 runs more: Axar Patel

It was truly a remarkable performance from the Indian team, who made it to their first T20 World Cup final in 10 years, thanks to a splendid all-round show at the Providence Stadium in Guyana. While Rohit Sharma set the tone with the bat, with a half-century on a difficult batting surface, the trio of Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, and Jasprit Bumrah didn’t give the defending champions any breathing room on their way to a 68-run victory.

It was resounding particularly because it wasn’t a straightforward wicket to bat on. While playing vertical shots was next to impossible, India did well to manage 171 runs - and Axar Patel - the all-round star of the evening - stated that they knew it was well above par right after the first innings.

“I think we could have easily defended at 170. It was a very good score. The way the wicket was behaving, when we spoke to Rohit [Sharma], he said it was very difficult to hit a big shot because the odd ball is spinning and the odd ball is also staying down, skidding on. So that was our thought that 150-160 is a very good score; we can defend it,” Patel said in the post-match press conference in Guyana.

“When we made 170, we knew that we made 10-15 runs more and the plan was the same - Obviously, it is difficult in the powerplay, but when you know that you are getting help from the wicket, then at that time, without thinking much, without doing any extra work, I thought that the more I keep it simple, the easier it will be for me. 

“Because, when we talked in the dressing room that it's not an easy wicket, then after that batsman came and told me that he will charge something else, it's not that easy for me to hit in front, and I couldn't hit from the back foot because the ball was not coming. My plan was to make it difficult for him and force him to think of playing some new shot. So, that’s what happened on the first ball. That was our plan,” the Gujarat all-rounder added.

After Ravindra Jadeja’s quick cameo with the bat, Axar batted six balls for 10 runs. He wasn’t able to hit the pacers around - particularly Chris Jordan - but later took the clue from the slower deliveries to employ his tactics with the ball.

“When I went to bat, I knew that when fast bowlers were bowling, everyone was bowling slower, and I knew that they were bowling slower - but still not able to hit. The ball was not coming at the speed I wanted, so I couldn't connect properly,” the 30-year-old added.

“Obviously, I got a clue from that as to what I could do and what I couldn't…The length ball was easy for me. It was easy to hit the ball at a good area. I feel that no one has hit me at a good length ball. It was important to hit the ball at a good length and line. I felt that felt when I came to powerplay. That's what I did.”

Balls stayed low on the Providence Stadium wicket and Axar had the upper hand by instigating the batters to go for sweeps and reverse sweeps. It also brought the wicketkeeper into the fore. As a matter of fact, the spinner took a wicket on the first ball of three out of five overs he bowled. 

“I didn't plan to hit wickets on first ball. I had a mindset that I had to put it in a good place. Obviously, when you play knockouts, your mindset is that you should start and finish the first and last ball well. That was in my mind. Obviously, every time I did well with the wicket, that was a plus point,” Axar explained.

“I think it was difficult to hit big shots and it was difficult to hit sweep and reverse sweep because if the ball was down on this wicket, you can't connect it so easily. Because batsmen have a doubt that if I go to sweep if the ball is down, I can hit it on the pad. It depends on what line length you put. Mostly our spinners kept it stump to stump. So, it was very difficult to hit sweep rewards on this wicket.

“And to hit the front, you have to hit the front as much as possible, but as we saw in the videos, his batsmen are a bit on the back foot, so he didn't get it so easily. He has to take out his leg and you have to take a step forward and play on this wicket, whatever type of wicket.”

While Jasprit Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh have obviously been great with the ball, the impact of spinners, especially since the Super Eight stage began, can’t be underestimated. Kuldeep and Axar have 10 and eight wickets at an average of 9.40 and 15.50, respectively. 

“Obviously, communication becomes very important in big matches. And I think all of us, whatever matches we played, we thought that this is a big competition for us. We were playing with the same mindset. We were trying to communicate as much as possible when we were scoring first or second over. We were able to understand what was happening on the wicket,” Axar stated.

“I keep talking to Jadeja and Kuldeep that when I bowl in the first over, this is what is happening in the wicket, this is not happening. I think the fast ball is stopping a little bit. 

“So, when Jaddu bowled in the ball in the first over, after that, when I had a 10-over break, I told him that our line length is stopping a little bit here, so it is easy for them to cut. You can go a little higher and vary in pace. It is not that easy on this wicket. After that, they bowled well. Communication is very important here. We keep doing the same in between the overs and whenever we get time,” the spinner added.

If you’ve not downloaded the Cricket.com app yet, you’re missing out — big time. Play Fantasy on Cricket.com NOW! Download the App here.