MATCH STORY
Follow UsIt raised a few eyebrows when Axar Patel walked out to bat for Delhi Capitals (DC) at number three in Match 40 against Gujarat Titans (GT). He had been struggling with the bat throughout the season. Also, after a while in the season, DC seemed to be settling with their number three, with Abishek Porel and Jake Fraser-McGurk batting at that slot in the last four matches.
With Fraser-McGurk opening, the scene was set for Porel to bat at three again. Delhi also had Shai Hope in the XI. Hence, no one anticipated Axar to stroll out when Fraser-McGurk holed out at deep square-leg in the fourth over.
However, the decision from the management made a lot of sense. A left-hander was a good option to push Hope back. What made Axar a better bet over Porel was his experience. With Gujarat holding three quality spinners up their sleeves, they needed a more prominent batter to tackle them in the middle overs. Axar, with his experience as a Test batter, had better chances to counter the Afghan spin duo and R Sai Kishore.
Hope, batting at number four, was out in the sixth over. Rishabh Pant, having borne the brunt of batting behind Porel on a few occasions before, walked out at five.
After a quick start, Delhi finished the powerplay at only 44/3. However, Pant and Axar in the middle promised a good middle-overs phase.
Both are good hitters of spin bowling. Both being left-handers also meant that Gujarat would keep their left-arm orthodox spinner Sai Kishore out of the attack for as long as they were at the crease. Sai Kishore was the Player of the Match in Gujarat’s last match for his figures of 4/33.
Axar and Pant had a rocky start. Axar was nine from 15 balls at one point. Pant was seven off eight. In their first 20 balls, the partnership added 24 runs. In an innings where the momentum was dying, with question marks on Axar’s promotion and Pant’s form, and GT spinners high on confidence, there was a lot at stake for the partnership to blossom.
The duo moved forward in the most efficient way possible. Unperturbed in their approach, they kept the bad balls away but still found timely boundaries. They batted for 68 balls together and there was a boundary in every single over, from the seventh over to the 17th, when Axar got out after hitting back-to-back sixes. They paid respect to the quality of the Afghan spinners but without a break in the scoring shots.
Between Rashid Khan and Noor Ahmad, Delhi looted 71 runs for only one wicket in seven overs. Axar scored 53 off 27 balls, vindicating the move to promote him. Pant scored 26 off 22. Being fine batters of spin bowling, they were able to hit the gaps in the deep.
The batting displayed a structured template in subverting spin. For instance, Noor’s first delivery was a rank loosener on the leg stump. But with fine-leg inside the circle, you would expect most batters to nudge it around for a single or a two or try to hit the gap for a four. But Pant shuffled away and scooped it over the fine-leg fielder for six. Axar did what you would expect from a left-hander against balls turning in. He smashed them over the arc between mid-wicket and long-on for 69% of his runs against spin.
Delhi hammered 83 runs in the middle overs without losing a wicket. Sai Kishore wasn’t brought in to bowl until Shubman Gill handed him the 19th over, probably just for the sake of it. And it brought 22 runs. The ripple effects of the Axar-Pant stand was felt in the Gujarat camp two overs after Axar had left for his highest IPL score — 66 from 43 balls.
Pant was 48 off 32 balls at this point. He blasted in the remaining overs. In the 20th, facing Mohit Sharma, he smashed four sixes and a four, culminating it into a 31-run over, with Pant racing to 88 off only 43 balls with eight sixes. The skipper had 26 off 22 against spin and all of his 62 runs versus pace came against Mohit.
At an economy of 9.8 before this clash, Mohit has been one of the more successful bowlers at death this season. But his modus operandi of taking the pace off and bowling either full or short wasn't meant for these conditions. In that regard, Pant exploited the chinks in Gujarat’s one-minded bowling plans. Axar did the same in the middle overs.
These innings have come at a critical time for both the left-handers. Axar is competing with Ravindra Jadeja for the spin-bowling all-rounder’s role in India’s T20 World Cup plans. Pant is in competition with a plethora of wicketkeeping options. He scored a sluggish 44 off 35 balls in the previous match. However, Pant has shrugged that off as a minor blip on this Wednesday (April 24).
These knocks serve as a timely reminder that both are still in a healthy state, both form and fitness-wise, to crack into India’s XI.
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