Axar Patel stood out as India’s star performer in their loss against Sri Lanka in the second T20I at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune. He displayed a complete all-rounded performance as he took two wickets with the ball and scored 65 with the bat.
The visitors scored 206 runs in the first innings, as most of the Indian bowlers were taken on for some runs in the game. However, Patel was one of the few who did not leak too many runs. He gave away just 24 runs in his spell of four overs. In addition, he also bagged two important wickets of Pathum Nissanka and Shananjaya de Silva.
In terms of batting, he entered the fray after the team had lost five wickets for a total of 57 runs in less than ten overs. He then shared an important 91-run partnership with Suryakumar Yadav to get close to the target. Each completed their half-centuries and got India very close to getting across the line.
Surya (51 runs in 36 balls) was dismissed soon after reaching his fifty, but Axar went on to score 65 runs in just 31 balls. He had a strike rate of nearly 210 while playing. He hit three boundaries and as many as six sixes in his innings, including a hat-trick against Wanindu Hasaranga.
The all-rounder was finally dismissed by Sri Lankan captain Dasun Shanaka in the final over of the game when all looked dusted for the team. With this innings, Patel set the record for the highest score by an Indian batter playing at number seven. In the meantime, Twitter was abuzz looking at the all-rounder’s performance. Fans were all praises for the 28-year-old.
“The Picture Says It All. The Two Star Performers From Both Sides Last Night. Appreciating Efforts & A Neighboring Sportsmanship,” a fan wrote in the caption on a photo of Dasun Shanaka and Axar Patel.
Here is how Twitter reacted to Axar Patel’s all-rounded innings
Dasun Shanaka praised Surykumar Yadav and Axar Patel for their excellent batting performance.#cricket #cricketnews #INDvSL #INDvsSL #news #TeamiIndia #Indianfans #NewsUpdate pic.twitter.com/9uzlpq2iLK
— CricInformer (@CricInformer) January 6, 2023
"Bapu thaari batting bhi kamaal che"
And he gets this record to his name now !!
sc – @kaustats
#INDvSL #INDvsSL #axarpatel #AksharPatel pic.twitter.com/0JmiNF8T07
— CRICKET CANNON (@cricketcannon) January 6, 2023
axar patel hona asan nahi .gajab jigra dikhaya.
— Shambhu Mishra (@RakeshShambhu) January 6, 2023
?? ?? ????? ??? ???? ??? ?? ?? #axarpatel ?? ????? 2 #T20I ?? batting performance ?? ????? ??? #Rajkot ??? Opening ?????? ????? #INDvsSL #CricketTwitter #axarpatel #TeamIndia @i_m_prapti @dhulliii1904 @DhwaniRohini @ShapariaKetan @saucricket
— Manish Bhandari ( bigg boss ) (@manishbhandar86) January 6, 2023
Most Sixes for India while chasing 200+ in a T20I
6 – Axar Patel vs SL*
6 – Suryakumar vs ENG
6 – Virat Kohli vs WI pic.twitter.com/uOHwLwhaZF— AS (@CricSamraj) January 6, 2023
#INDvSL#SLvsIND #INDvsSL
The Picture Says It All??
The Two Star Performers From Both Sides Last Night??
Appreciating Efforts & A Neighboring Sportsmanship ??#dasunshanaka #Shanaka #axarpatel
# pic.twitter.com/6gBZEjtGyy— Saumi (Forever SidNaazian) ???? (@BasuSaumi) January 6, 2023
IND Vs SL Axar Patel Says About Hat Trick Of Sixes Against Wanindu Hasaranga In One Over Pune T20 #INDvsSL #sports #cricket #BawaalPlayer #CFBPlayoff #indVsSri https://t.co/WTFSntncsw
— Boxy News (@Gaurav64569793) January 6, 2023
bumrah ka toh patha nahi but..axar patel should b in world cup 2023..playing 11..over jadeja..bcoz axar doing excellent job for team india
— Mohd Mateen (@MohdMateenMohd1) January 6, 2023
We saw two back-to-back nail-biting thrillers between #INDvsSL . Axar Patel gave it his all, but he was on the losing team.#Teamindia #axarpatel #India pic.twitter.com/7zFsoyBh14
— Backchod Indian (@IndianBackchod) January 6, 2023
All-rounder Axar Patel has broken the record for registering the highest T201 score by an Indian batting at number seven. He scored 65(31) in India's second T201 against Sri Lanka. The previous record was set by all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, who scored 44*(23) against Australia. pic.twitter.com/H7wz0DqcJY
— Syed Faiz Abbas (@Faizabdii) January 6, 2023
