Axar Patel's Batting Prowess Boosts India's T20I Performance

On the seam-friendly pitches of the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium, Axar Patel's left-arm spin has taken a backseat to the pacers. However, Patel has emerged as a valuable asset with the bat. Promoted to No. 4 in the Pakistan outing on Sunday, he anchored the Indian innings with an 18-ball 20.

Patel's primary task was to navigate the PowerPlay safely. By hanging around long enough to neutralize the new ball, he paved the way for the likes of Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, and Shivam Dube to bat with greater ease. "Rohit (Sharma) bhai has made it clear that the only fixed batting positions are those of the openers. Everything below that is flexible," Patel explained. "I got a brief—I don't have to slog wildly. The plan was to bat as long as possible and make the new ball a bit older. This would make it easier for batters coming after me."

Patel's 39-run third-wicket partnership with Rishabh Pant proved crucial in the low-scoring affair. "The partnership with Rishabh was crucial. We got to a good position after 10 overs. We knew that batting second on this pitch would not be easy, so we remained positive even though we scored only 119," Patel said.

Despite bowling only three overs in India's two matches, the 30-year-old left-arm spinner has made an impact. He trapped Usman Khan leg-before off the first ball he bowled and later tightened the screws on Pakistan by conceding just two runs in the 16th over. Left-hander Imad Wasim, expected to have it easy against a left-arm spinner, was beaten three times in a row. "Some pressure built up because I bowled a tidy over. There is not much in the wicket for the spinners. I did not want to let them free their arms and go for big shots," Patel said.

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