India vs Australia 4th T20: How Axar Patel scripted series-clinching spell in Raipur

A day after he was dropped from India’s T20I squad for the South Africa tour, Axar Patel responded with a match-winning effort as Men in Blue defeated Australia by 20 runs in Raipur on Friday to clinch the five-match series 3-1 with a game to go. After India posted 174/9 with Rinku Singh scoring 46 off 29 balls, Axar Patel took three wickets for just 16 runs in four overs to spin India to a series-clinching victory in the fourth T20I.

IND vs AUS: Major takeaways from 4th T20I

Chasing 175, Australia made a dream start, scoring 40/0 in the first three overs before captain Suryakumar Yadav turned to spin from both ends. Ravi Bishnoi was the first one to strike with the wicket of Josh Philippe, but Axar Patel was the one who made the biggest dent. He dismissed Travis Head in the fifth over and then Aaron Hardie in the seventh over. His figures after the first two overs read 2/6.

Head, who scored the match-winning century in the ODI World Cup final against India, got out trying to slog a tossed-up ball. A looping delivery which once again highlighted Axar Patel’s daring ambitions in the format. The Gujarat spinner stuck to his strengths despite being hit for 22 runs in the penultimate over of the last game which resulted in a stunning win for Australia.

“Since the first game I had been bowling well, so one-odd over for runs doesn’t give me stress. I was thinking how to bowl with my strength, even if one match you go for runs, you stick to your strengths, stay strong mentally and bowl stump to stump,” player of the match Axar said.

After three back-to-back overs, Axar returned in the 12th over and got rid of Ben McDermott with a back-of-length ball that stayed low and hit the top of off. His three wickets came at an economy of 4 and was a result of multiple variations. If Head became a victim of a tossed-up ball, McDermott was sent back with Axar pulling his length back.

“The wicket I got today was off a slower ball relatively, you can’t get wickets only one way. That’s what I was thinking about in the break; these minor changes make a difference and you know how things work only when you try them out in a match,” Axar explained.

Axar Patel knocks the stumps again! ⚡️⚡️

This time it’s Ben McDermott who has to depart. #TeamIndia | #INDvAUS | @IDFCFIRSTBank pic.twitter.com/RNVWR84dIn

— BCCI (@BCCI) December 1, 2023

He will not be part of India’s T20I squad in South Africa which means he is out of the race for the 2024 T20 World Cup but there’s one more game to go in the series and one more opportunity for Axar to strengthen his case.