Axar Patel becomes first Indian spinner to take 100 T20I wickets
Manchester, July 4
Indian all-rounder Axar Patel made history on Saturday, becoming the first spinner from Team India to reach 100 T20I wickets and only fourth bowler to do so.
During the second T20I against England at Manchester, Axar trapped a dangerous Harry Brook for a 15-ball 39 as England were chasing a competitive 191 run total.
Now, Axar stands as India's fourth-highest T20I wicket-taker, with 100 scalps in 98 matches. In the top three are: Arshdeep Singh (134 scalps), Jasprit Bumrah (121 scalps) and Hardik Pandya (114 wickets).
Coming to the match, India opted to bat first and handed 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi a much anticipated international debut, making him the youngest Indian international player at 15 years and 99 days.
Sooryavanshi could last only 10 balls, scoring 14 on his debut with two sixes. Meanwhile Abhishek Sharma (43 in 24 balls, with eight fours and a six) and Shreyas Iyer (37 in 22 balls, with three fours and a six) played entertaining knocks.
Ishan Kishan (49 in 40 balls, with six fours) put up 65 runs for third wicket with Iyer. Following that, India collapsed from 130/2 to 165/6. Tilak Varma (24* in 11 balls, with a four and two sixes) played a quickfire cameo to take India to 190/7 in 20 overs.
Sam Curran (3/33) was England's best bowler.
In the chase, England lost both their openers, Phil Salt and Jos Buttler for ducks, their first time ever in T20Is. However, England made a solid enough recovery courtesy a quickfire knock from skipper Harry Brook (39 in 15 balls, with four boundaries and three sixes), who put a fifty-run stand with Jacob Bethell.
Bethell put in a 67-run stand for the fourth wicket with Tom Banton (39 in 32 balls, with six fours) before Banton and Will Jacks' wickets reduced England to 133/5 in 15.2 overs.
Bethell (76* in 46 balls, with five fours and five sixes) changed the course of the game by upping the gears in slog overs, ending the chase in 19 overs with Jofra Archer (10*). England take 1-0 lead in five match series, with three matches left for India to make an impact. The first T20I ended in a washout.
— ANI
Reader Comments
Happy for Axar but honestly, I'm more excited about Vaibhav Sooryavanshi! A 15-year-old making his international debut is massive. He didn't score big but the audacity to hit two sixes on debut shows his temperament. Future star in the making for sure. The selectors are finally giving young talent a chance! ⭐
Great achievement for Axar but India's batting collapse after 130/2 is a concern. From 130/2 to 165/6, that's not good enough. They should have posted 210+ given the start. And the bowling in the death overs needs improvement too - letting Bethell score 76* in a chase like that wasn't ideal. Lots to work on.
Axar Patel truly deserves all the praise – such a hardworking player who bowls tight lines and also contributes with the bat. But I'm a bit disappointed with the team's overall performance today. We batted well initially but the middle order just collapsed. And chasing 191, England looked in trouble at 0/2 but then we let them off. Still a long series ahead, hoping India bounces back! 🤞
Absolutely love seeing a spinner like Axar succeed in T20Is! Very often spinners are underutilized in this format but he's shown class with his variations and accuracy. Also, congratulations to Vaibhav – at 15 I was dreaming of playing gully cricket, this kid is playing for India! 🇮🇳
Axar's achievement is impressive but the real story for me is India's field
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