'Didn’t Have Enough Time to Plan': Axar Patel Opens Up on Sudden Promotion to No. 4 vs Pakistan

Chahal TV is back with the T20 World Cup 2024 and the leg-spinner shot the video after India defeated Pakistan by 6 runs to clinch the top spot on Group A points table. Chahal spoke with the likes of Axar Patel, Rishabh Pant and Mohammed Siraj who played crucial roles in India’s famous win over the arch-rivals.

India suffered a middle-order collapse and could only muster 119 runs in 19 overs on a tricky Nassau County track. But before that, Pant and Axar stitched a useful 39-run stand for the third wicket to set the base for a challenging total. The game saw the southpaw getting promoted at no. 4 about which he spoke to Yuzvendra Chahal in the video.

Asked about his planning as a no. 4 batter, Axar said, “I didn’t have enough time to plan anything when I was told to bat at No. 4. But it turned easy for me when I went in the middle because Rishabh was already there. Not about cricket but we had a little fun chat because he wanted to make me comfortable. He kept on telling something which helped me to get along.”

Meanwhile, Pant also spoke about the mindset with which he tackled the Pakistan attack on Sunday. The wicketkeeper-batter top-scored for India with a 31-ball 42, including 6 boundaries.

“I wanted to bat with a positive mindset and keep things simple. India vs Pakistan are always pressure games. But when Baapu (Axar) came in… he practiced throughout the IPL to bat at no. 3 or 4. So, you get comfortable when you have your mate alongside you. So that happened and then, we didn’t think about the situation,” Pant said.

Axar was spot on with the ball as well, especially in the death. In the 16^th over Pakistan’s chase, he bowled 4 dot balls and didn’t allow Imad Wasim to charge against him.

“Plan was not to bowl in his range. I didn’t want to get hit for sixes towards midwicket, the wind was flowing in that direction. So, I spoke with Rohit Bhai and had the field set accordingly which helped me execute my plans well. The dot balls put pressure on them [Pakistan],” Axar said.

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