IND vs AUS: Axar Patel credits his batting success to former Australia skipper

The second Test between India and Australia has been full of ups and downs. Australia have heavily improved on their performance compared to the match in Nagpur. Thanks to impressive knocks from Usman Khawaja and Peter Handscomb, the visitors were able to put the Indian team under pressure early on.

The Aussies did not disappoint with the ball as well. Veteran spinner Nathan Lyon completed his fifer as he worsened the situation for the Indian team. Axar Patel was the one Indian batter who fought back against the Aussies and managed to give hope to the struggling Indian side.

Axar’s knock of 74 off 115 balls was essential for India on Day 2. The 29-year-old has been in fabulous form recently. He had also impressed with the bat in the first Test against Australia, Axar scored 84 runs when India beat Australia by an innings and 132 runs in the first match of the series. Axar came forward to talk about his recent showing with the bat, crediting his performances to legendary Australian batter Ricky Ponting.

"At Delhi Capitals, I talked a lot with Ricky (Ponting) about how I can get better with my batting. Even with the Indian team, I was talking to the batters. I felt I was not realising my potential in my 30s and 40s. I was not able to finish the game," Axar was quoted as saying by NDTV.

"So, it was a lot about the mindset. Sometimes you can relax as an all-rounder if you have taken wickets, you could get casual. So I thought I could improve on that and convert my 30s and 40s into match-winning scores. That is how I think now and that has made a big difference," he added.

After his impressive showing with the bat, Axar Patel will look to dominate the Aussies with his bowling as well. The visitors lost an early wicket towards the end of Day 2 after Usman Khawaja was unable to score big in the second innings.