IND vs SL 2023: Saba Karim lavishes praises on Axar Patel for his all-round brilliance in 1st T20I

On Tuesday, January 3, at Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium, India defeated Sri Lanka in the opening Twenty20 international of the three-match series in a nail-biting final ball contest. The star of the show was Axar Patel, who extended India's first innings total to 162 runs by quickly scoring an unbeaten 31* off 20 deliveries before defending 13 runs in the game's penultimate over.

Patel was not just good with the bat, but also helped India win the game by two runs on the final ball of the contest. The all-rounder received appreciation from former Team India selector Saba Karim, who praised Axar’s brilliance in the final over, stating that he bowled intelligently and tactically, which helped India win the cut-throat game.

“Hardik Pandya did not bowl the final over owing to a tight hamstring. This is why he had to give it to Axar Patel. It surely was a very imposing challenge for Axar. Defending 13 runs against a batter who is capable of playing big shots is never easy. He bowled very intelligently, making it difficult for the batter to hit with his full-length deliveries. Apart from that one short ball that went for a six, he was quite exceptional,” Karim told India News Sports.

After a shaky start to their first innings against Sri Lanka, India recovered and put up a commanding performance after the first 15 overs.  Deepak Hooda and Axar Patel worked in tandem to gain momentum during the death overs. The final over of the second innings was a challenge where Axar had to defend 13 runs. Though he was hit for a maximum and gave away a wide, he managed to restrict the Islanders to take India to a win.

“At one stage, it seemed that India would struggle to reach the 150-run mark. They were able to post a challenging total thanks to Deepak Hooda and Axar Patel. Their partnership proved to be a decisive factor,” Karim said while speaking of Axar’s batting prowess.

India and Sri Lanka will now lock horns on Thursday, January 05, at the Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA) Stadium in Pune for the second T20I.

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