'I was nervous' - Axar Patel opens up on batting at four against Pakistan in T20 World Cup

Against Pakistan in the recently concluded T20 World Cup, Axar Patel was promoted to number four after India were reduced to 19/2 at one stage. Batting first, the Men in Blue lost the wickets of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma and were under immense pressure at Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York. Interestingly, Axar was sent ahead of Suryakumar Yadav and Shivam Dube but the all-rounder played to his merit and bailed India out of trouble.

The 30-year-old recently revealed that he was nervous to bat at number four against Pakistan. He revealed to have had a chat with the team management early on that in case of early wickets, he would be promoted in the order but didn’t expect that to happen in a crucial game against Pakistan. The Gujarat-born cricketer added that he didn’t practice with the new ball in the nets which only built more pressure on him but he was positive as he did bat in the powerplay for Delhi Capitals in the Indian Premier League.

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“Against Pakistan, I was sent up the order. Before the match, I was told that I may have to bat early if there are early wickets. At that time I was nervous. In the nets, I did not practise with the new ball and suddenly I was having to play in PowerPlay. My IPL experience came in handy and it made me feel positive. For Delhi Capitals, I batted a few times in the PowerPlay overs and played a few crucial knocks too,” Axar was quoted as saying by India Today.

“That helped me understand what to do in those situations. I had to be positive and not worry about who would be bowling to me. I was not trying to overthink. And I knew that I had the game to play according to the situation. I just wanted to stay in the present. That worked for me against Pakistan,” he added.

Axar had a stunning time in the T20 World Cup and was one of India’s key players in the tournament. Against Pakistan, he made 20 runs off 18 balls and picked up the wicket of Usman Khan. India defeated their arch-rivals by six runs and later went on to lift the trophy in Barbados against South Africa.