Team India spinner Axar Patel who picked 2 for 38 in the first T20I, has evolved in the last twelve months. Following the T20 World Cup, he continued his good form against Sri Lanka in the first T20I as well. Although he had conceded 29 runs in his first three overs, his final over was the game-changer as he dismissed both set batters Pathum Nissanka (79) and Kusal Perera (20). This led to a Sri Lankan collapse from 140 for 1 to 170 all-out as well.
Speaking on his performance, Axar said, “When you continuously play cricket for India and when you do well in pressure situations, you get some confidence. And each time you get confidence, you always learn from it. It’s not that you’ll always do well in pressure situations and you might fail as well. But those situations teach you that I could have done things differently and that has taught me a lot in the last one year especially”, said the all-rounder.
“So when I do well in those situations, my confidence grows and when such situations arise again, I don’t get bogged down nor do I think ‘oh I need to do this, I need to do that.’ I focus a lot more on my strengths and I think that is really helping me. When you keep doing well, your confidence keeps building. One month ago, I did well in the World Cup and I’m carrying that confidence too which is reaping its benefits”, he continued.
However, Sri Lanka started well and had raced to 140 for 1 in 14 overs chasing 214. But, Axar felt that India were one wicket away from triggering a potential collapse as well, which was the case as Sri Lanka lost their last nine wickets for 30 runs only.
“While bowling, we realised the wicket got better and better in the night because of moisture and the cold weather. I know they were going at 10 an over. But, we were all talking that the game is still on and we have a good score on the board. We knew that while batting, it was harder to hit the older ball and we felt that we were only one wicket away from getting a potential collapse,” he stated.
“When we speak in the team meeting, the captain and coach will keep changing but the 11 to 15 players will need to keep performing and they have told us that however we have been playing, we’ll continue to play that way. The input and thinking of the coaches might be different and they will communicate with us here and there, but the team atmosphere doesn’t change much. I have played with Surya in the last Australia series so I know that he is a bowlers’ captain and allows bowlers to think freely and make decisions. Even when you get hit, he comes up to you and says well bowled or gives other inputs. He doesn’t get bothered if you’re hit for a four or a six as a bowler and you get the confidence as a bowler,” Axar Patel concluded.
