Learnt from my past mistakes: Axar Patel on match-winning performance against Australia

New Delhi, Nov 7 (IANS) Indian all-rounder Axar Patel reflected on how learning from his “past mistakes” helped him deliver a decisive performance in India’s 48-run win over Australia in the fourth T20I, sealing the visitors' an unassailable 2-1 lead in the five-match series after the opening game was washed out.

Axar’s late cameo - an 11-ball 21 that included a boundary and a six in the final over off Marcus Stoinis - proved vital in pushing India to 167, before his two wickets capped off a complete all-round effort that earned him the Player of the Match award.

“Obviously, I knew it was tough because wickets were falling back to back. The message that I got from the dressing room was to take it to the last over because there weren’t any batsmen after me,” Axar said in a post-match interview with teammate Shivam Dube on bcci.tv.

“So I thought I would take a chance in the last over. The side boundaries were big but I thought if I could hold my shape and watch the ball, I could clear them,” he said.

The 31-year-old admitted that he had previously allowed boundary dimensions to influence his shot selection - something he consciously avoided this time.

“I have felt in the past that if I think about the size of the boundary and don’t hit towards those sides, they become predetermined shots and because of that we make mistakes,” Axar said. “I learnt from past mistakes and played my shots here.”

His composed approach under pressure allowed India to recover from a mid-innings wobble and finish strongly. Later with the ball, Axar struck twice in a disciplined spell on a surface offering little assistance to spinners.

“As a spinner, I felt like it was important for me to contain,” he explained. “I was looking at that and bowling wicket to wicket because I was not getting much spin but I was getting a little bit of bounce because of the dew. The ball was skidding a lot.”

Dube also asked Axar about his key wicket of Matthew Short, who was trapped lbw after an accurate review — a call Axar admitted he normally hesitates to make.

“I’m never ready to take a review,” he said with a laugh. “But when the ball hit (his pads) this time, I think it stayed low. And the kind of action that I have, I bowl a little wide off the crease. So I always feel that the ball will hit outside the wicket or go from an angle.”

“But in this I knew that the ball was hitting and (although) it could have been a little outside the off stump, we could take a chance on umpire’s call and when I spoke to Jitu (Jitesh Sharma), he said ‘Axar, it’s inside, I mean in the middle’. So I said ‘yes, we can take a chance’,” he recalled.

The left-arm all-rounder will look to carry his form into the fifth and final T20 in Brisbane on Saturday, with India eyeing a series-clinching win to round off their tour in style.

--IANS

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