Home
India vice-captain Axar Patel believes that his team's early collapse was a good experience after the Men in Blue were caught off guard during their T20 World Cup 2026 opener clash against the USA at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. The Suryakumar Yadav-led side suffered a top-order batting collapse as they were reduced to 77 for 6.
Axar Patel on the Wankhede pitch
After an early batting collapse, Axar and skipper Suryakumar Yadav steadied the innings with a crucial partnership to help India recover from the spot of bother.
“Generally Mumbai wickets are flat, but this was different. So we changed our plan to reach 140-150,” Axar said after the match. “After two overs we were surprised. Generally it’s flat but this was different. When I went to bat, we thought keep it to 140… then 21 runs came in an over. And later Surya got more.”
Axar Patel on why batting collapse important for India
USA suffered a blow when Ali Khan, who had started brilliantly by giving just 13 runs in his first two overs and dismissing Abhishek Sharma for a first-ball duck, had to leave the attack due to injury. Because of this, he couldn’t bowl his remaining overs.
The responsibility then fell on Saurabh Netravalkar, but he struggled in his two overs, conceding 21 runs in each. Those 42 extra runs proved crucial in the match and made a big difference in the end.
“About those wickets that fell early that’s cricket. It’s good that this happened in the first match itself. In cricket, understanding the pitch is important. We will be better off for this experience” said Axar Patel as quoted by IndianExpress.
After registering a 29-run win against USA, Team India will now face Namibia in their second Group Stage clash which is scheduled to take place at Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi.
ADVERTISEMENT
