India defeated England by six wickets in the first ODI of the three-match series at Edgbaston as Axar Patel’s produced a stellar all-round performance. His four-wicket haul and a fifty propelled India to return to winning ways in the UK after seven winless T20I games, and it will now give them plenty of confidence ahead of the remaining two ODIs.
Axar, who was himself under the scanner for his recent performances, starred in the series opener. The left-arm spin-bowling all-rounder removed the wagging lower middle-order and the tail to take 4/62 before he starred with the bat too.ย
Axar Patel’s backs it up with the bat
India were in dire need of some stability, and that’s when Axar stood up in the chase. His batting was under heavy scrutiny in white-ball cricket, but the southpaw played an important knock to bail India out of trouble. He made an unbeaten 57 runs off 52 balls, guiding the chase alongside Washington Sundar, who was equally effective with the bat. The Chennai-born added an unbeaten 52 runs as India got the job done with 28 balls remaining.ย
Axar becomes 4th Indian to win PoTM against England in all formats
Axar Patel entered an elite list when he received the Player of the Match award for his outstanding all-round performance in the first ODI against England. With this, he became the fourth Indian player to win this award against England in all three formats. Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, and Kuldeep Yadav achieved this feat before Axar Patel achieved the milestone.
What Makes Axarโs Performance Extra Unique?
What makes Patel’s performance particularly significant is the challenging situation in which it was delivered. He becomes only the third Indian cricketer in ODI history to achieve this rare double of scoring a half-century and taking four wickets in a match against England, joining Yuvraj Singh and Hardik Pandya.ย
Patel walked out to bat at number six under immense pressure after India’s top order wobbled at 160/4, taking the Men in Blue to the finish line. He is now just the sixth Indian cricketer to achieve the rare double of scoring 50-plus runs and claiming four or more wickets in a single ODI.ย
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