[Watch] Savior Axar Patel smashes 6,4,6 against Manav Suthar to bring up 50 in Duleep Trophy 2024
Tea India all-rounder Axar Patel again turned savior in the 2024 Duleep Trophy on Thursday, rescuing India D from a precarious position of 48/6. With the momentum of a quick start behind him, he reached his half-century in style with three consecutive boundaries against young left-arm spinner Manav Suthar.
India C pacers dominated the first hour of the match in Anantapur as the pitch offered enough purchase for movement in the air and off the track. Axar had to come out in the 11th over and see off the heavy pressure. But as spinners started operating, he unleashed his best shots.
Watch how he reached his 50 here:
Among those dismissed before Axar were captain Shreyas Iyer, last Ranji Trophy's highest run-scorer Ricky Bhui, and Devdutt Padikkal. Six batters got out for single-digit scores and the second-best aggregate after Axar was 13 runs.
Axar Patel falls 14 runs short of his 100
After fighting hard for 117 balls and smashing six sixes and as many fours, Axar Patel eventually got out against off-spinner Hrithik Shokeen, with Suthar taking the catch. India D were bowled out for 164 with the umpires calling for Tea with his wicket.
It won't be easy for Ruturaj Gaikwad's India C either as they'll be up against the likes of Arshdeep Singh and Harshit Rana in the last session of the day. Both of them can swing the new ball and generate extra bounce.
Meanwhile, this was yet another display of Axar's growing stature in Indian cricket. If he keeps performing like this, while bettering his numbers against off-spinners, he might be seen as a starting option for the Border Gavaskar Trophy in Australia in December.
Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja would still pip him with the ball but his batting form has been the best across formats this year. There's still time but Axar is strongly putting his case forward.