Axar Patel delivered a sensational delivery to dismiss Jonny Bairstow in the first Test. On the first day of the Hyderabad Test, Patel was brilliant with the ball and bowled a dream delivery to get rid of a set batter like Bairstow. It was a peach and almost unplayable for any batter. Bairstow, who was playing so well till then, had no clue how he got out.
After being reduced to 60/3, England saw a decent partnership for the fourth wicket between Joe Root and Bairstow. The duo put on 58 runs for the 4th wicket. It kept the visiting side alive in the game. As England seemed to put on a good score on the board, the match did look like going away from the hands of India. The home side did not seem desperate for the wicket.
Watch the video of the dismissal here:
Cracking Delivery From Axar Patel ? @akshar2026 pic.twitter.com/UXVKpVQowA
— Popa (@CaptainVK18) January 25, 2024
The spin trio of Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, and Axar went about their business well. A good break came in the form of a slight delay, as KS Bharat suffered a small blow on his face in an attempt to catch a return throw from Jadeja. It sort of broke the momentum of England’s batters. What followed after the incident was magical.
Axar Patel claims the top of Jonny Bairstow’s off-stump
Patel bowled right on the good length and in the middle stump line. The ball turned exactly a bit as anticipated and took the top of the off-stump. Bairstow batted well on the back foot till then. For the particular delivery that landed on a good length, there was a misjudgment from the batter about whether or not to play on the back foot. It meant that the England batter ended up getting dismissed.
Bairstow was surprised by the way the ball turned. Patel is not a huge turner of the ball. Jonny probably trusted the bowler to bowl the arm ball. But the left-arm orthodox spinner outfoxed the batter by delivering a peach. It was a brilliant setup from the left-arm spinner and Bairstow could not have played it in a better way.
