Duleep Trophy: Crisis man Axar Patel responds again, sends strong reminder to selectors

The stocks of Axar Patel, the red ball terminator on crumbling tracks, have plummeted. But the profile of Axar, the crisis man with the bat down the order, continues to rise, effectively guaranteeing a spot in the Test squad, or even recommending his case to the first eleven.

His scorching 86 off 118 against India C in Anantapur, accounting for half the runs India D put on the board (164), was a knock he has played several times in his career. The side in distress, a step away from obliteration, and Axar firefought with an array of blistering strokes and defiant defence, an approach that has fetched him a robust average of 35.88 in 22 outings, and one that could bring him more Test caps.

When he strode in, India C seamers had reduced India D to 34 for 5 on a surface with lateral movement and bounce. The ball hemmed and hooped, but Axar diligently clung on, seeing off the seamers Anshul Kamboj and Vijayakumar Vyshak, bedding in and then taking on the spinners. His first run came off the 18th ball, the first four arriving off the 25th ball, a thud through extra cover. Of all their batsmen, he alone had the discretion to leave balls outside the off-stump and the technical adeptness to stretch forward and defend. He alone had the wisdom to seize moments too.

Axar Patel on 🔥

Smashes 6⃣4⃣6⃣ off Manav Suthar as he brings up his 50!#DuleepTrophy | @IDFCFIRSTBankhttps://t.co/u0KTJISm6b pic.twitter.com/g8lVbi52Vp

— BCCI Domestic (@BCCIdomestic) September 5, 2024

Once he began to lose partners — India D tottering at 76/8 — and the surface its sting, he began to employ his tremendous reach and fluent bat-swing to good effect. To the spinners, he would clear his right leg and clump them either straight down the ground or through mid-wicket. Left-arm spinner Manav Suthar bore the brunt, as Axar smacked him for a pair of sixes and a four in the space of four balls, an onslaught reminiscent of his dismembering of the Australian spinners in Nagpur last year. Off-spinner Hrithik Shokeen could have had him stumped on 54, but Axar made most of the life by smoking him for consecutive sixes.

He didn’t spare the seamers either. Himanshu Chauhan was scythed for successive boundaries, one past him and the other through extra cover, both flat and powerful drives, before Anshul Kamboj was clipped through fine-leg. For much of the innings, he stole a single off the last or the penultimate ball, shielding Arshdeep Singh in an innings resurrecting stand of 84 runs, of which the latter contributed 13 runs.

The cornerstone of his batting is his uncluttered bat-swing, like a pure scythe of a sickle. There is no fear, or doubt, no second thoughts, as he swings the bat through a crisp line. Even when hitting across, his head doesn’t waver, the body doesn’t flail, the balance is immaculate. A deserved three-figure mark eluded, but he reinforced why the Indian team management insists with him. He could be as important a figure in the Gautam Gambhir era as he was in the Rahul Dravid reign. His day wasn’t finished, as he returned to pick two wickets, with India C ending their day on 91/4.

Iyer’s continuing woes

Shreyas Iyer could console that it was not a short ball that nailed him. But that would hardly be an encouragement if he were to watch the dismissal. Rather, it was even more damning an expose of his technique. His front-foot nervously half-forward, hands hard and stabbing away from the body at a good-length Vyshakh Vijayakumar ball that moved a shade away after pitching. Iyer would loathe watching the dismissal video again, as time is running out for him to push his case for the Bangladesh series. Runs have dried up for him after the ODI World Cup. His measly returns against South Africa (away) and England (home) have put his Test spot in jeopardy. Though he missed the last three Tests against England due to injuries, the path back looks arduous if keeps getting out like this.

Brief scores: India D 164 (Axar Patel 86; Vijaykumar Vyshak 3/19, Himanshu Chauhan 2/22) vs India C 91/4.

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