Home
The recently-concluded T20I series between India and Sri Lanka witnessed all-rounder Axar Patel in full rhythm, excelling in all three facets of the game. After a marvelous performance in the 2nd T20I in Pune where he bagged 2/24 with the ball and scored 65 runs off 31 balls with the help of three fours and six sixes, the 28-year-old put on another thrilling all-round display in the 3rd T20I in Rajkot. The left-handed batter first scored 21 runs off nine balls and then delivered a spell of 1/19 in three overs with the ball.
For his remarkable display throughout the series, Axar was awarded the Man of the Series award. The southpaw ended the series as the third-leading run scorer (117) at a strike rate of 195 while he also finished fourth in the most wickets tally (4) at an economy rate of 7.40.
Upon receiving the award, Axar credited captain Hardik Pandya for instilling confidence in him.
"Feel happier when the team benefits from my batting (when compared to bowling)," Axar said at the post-match [resentation.
"Didn't do anything different for this series, just that the captain gave me a lot of confidence in the dugout. He tells me to play freely and tells me that he is there to protect me. We do a lot of planning during team meetings but sometimes things do go wrong and I just focus on doing my plans properly," he added.
India won the three-match T20I series 2-1 and the Men in Blue will now lock horns against Sri Lanka in a three-match ODI series, starting January 10. Rohit, Virat, Rahul and Jasprit Bumrah are all part of India's ODI squad
