"Obvious mistake on Surya's part" - Aakash Chopra questions Axar Patel being given only 1 over in IND vs SA 2024 2nd T20I
Aakash Chopra has questioned Suryakumar Yadav's utilization of Axar Patel with the ball in the second T20I between India and South Africa in Gqeberha on Sunday, November 10. He noted that the left-arm spinner was given only one over on a pitch Varun Chakaravarthy and Ravi Bishnoi accounted for six dismissals between them.
India posted 124-6 after being asked to bat first. Although the hosts were reduced to 86-7 at one stage during the chase, they eventually won the game by three wickets to draw level in the four-match series.
In a video shared on his YouTube channel 'Aakash Chopra', the former India opener questioned Suryakumar's handling of Axar with the ball.
"What are we actually doing with Axar Patel? Why are you playing him? Give a little clarity. Axar Patel - one over in Kingsmead, Durban, and here also just one over. On a pitch where six of the seven wickets were picked up by spinners, he bowled just one over," he said (11:05).
"In my opinion, he is being underutilized as a resource. We are saying that you are playing three spinners but you are unable to play them properly. I am not thinking much about the batting failure but not bowling Axar Patel was an obvious mistake on Surya's part," Chopra added.
Chopra pointed out that Tristan Stubbs, who played a match-winning knock alongside Gerald Coetzee, was struggling to pick the spinners' lengths at the start of his innings.
"That was a thing that stood out here as Tristan Stubbs, who played well, wasn't able to pick length properly at the start. He was going back against full deliveries. He is a quality player and he showed in the end how and why, but Gerald Coetzee came as an out-of-syllabus question, and I feel he will get one-and-a-half to two crores extra in the auction because he also hit sixes.," he observed.
Stubbs (47* off 41) and Coetzee (19* off 9) stitched together an unbroken 42-run eighth-wicket partnership in 3.2 overs. The duo took the Indian seamers to the cleaners after Chakaravarthy (5/17) and Bishnoi (1/21) had finished their spells.
"He was unfortunate that he got run out" - Aakash Chopra on Axar Patel's dismissal
![Axar Patel scored 27 runs off 21 deliveries before he was run out while backing up too far. [P/C: Getty]](https://statico.sportskeeda.com/editor/2024/11/c2629-17313030781660-1920.jpg?w=500)
However, Aakash Chopra acknowledged that Axar Patel was promoted in the batting order and was unfortunate to get run out.
"In batting, you sent him up the order. He was unfortunate that he got run out. No one else did a good job in batting, whether it was Sanju Samson at the start, or Abhishek Sharma's problems against the bouncers continuing," he said in the same video.
The cricketer-turned-commentator added that most Indian batters failed to deliver in Sunday's game.
"He will have to acknowledge that problem. Suryakumar Yadav wasn't ready for the full ball. An excellent catch was taken (by David Miller) to dismiss Tilak Varma. Rinku Singh hit the ball straight above his head," Chopra observed.
Hardik Pandya top-scored for India with an unbeaten 39 off 45 deliveries. Axar (27 off 21) and Tilak Varma (20 off 20) were the other Indian players to reach double digits.