New Delhi: As Virat Kohli was nearing his 51st ODI century in the 2025 Champions Trophy clash against Pakistan, all-rounder Axar Patel revealed that he was making calculations silently to see how he could help the veteran batter reach the three-figure mark.
At the Dubai International Stadium, when it became clear that India would chase down 242, there was some tension on whether Kohli would get his hundred or not, with 12 runs remaining.
But with Axar refusing to run for two runs once and mostly rotating the strike to get Kohli at the crease, the veteran eventually got the century and finished off the chase for India by dancing down the pitch and slamming Khushdil Shah through extra cover for a four to remain unbeaten on exactly a hundred off 111 balls.
“I think it’s the first time that I got the opportunity to watch a high-pressure game live from the dressing room, where Virat bhai has scored a century. I had a lot of fun, and the way he was running between the wickets after fielding for 50 overs, I think it is great how he has maintained that level of fitness, and it was very fun to watch.
“We enjoyed a lot. At the end, actually main bhi thoda maths kar raha tha unke hundred ke liye (I was also doing some maths for his hundred towards the end). I was worried that I don’t edge the ball or do something like that. So, it was quite fun,” said Axar on ICC’s official Instagram account.
Earlier in the game, Axar caused a momentum shift for India by firing in a direct hit from mid-on and running out Imam-ul-Haq for 10 off 26 balls in the first powerplay. “I think when I came to play bowl in the powerplay, I took a single; he hit it on the mid-off when Harshit Rana was fielding. So I felt that his plan and all the videos I had seen, he used to step out and take a lot of singles.
“One ball before that, I was visualising that maybe he will take a single like this and I will do a direct hit. So I was behind earlier; after that, I started a little and when the same moment happened, the direct hit happened. After that, I said, ‘It was good that I visualised a little one ball earlier’. Yes, but after that the momentum changed and after that you can see what happened,” he said.
Axar’s second decisive role in the match came when he dismissed skipper Mohammad Rizwan for 46, and he revealed how it happened. “One ball before that, a catch of him was missed off Hardik’s bowling. When I saw it, Hardik was very angry.
“Then when I came to bowl, I didn’t feel that he would charge out against me on the ball first. So I put the ball slow and I think at that pace he thought that I will hit on the length, but I put that ball slow because he was playing a single-double rotation game, so I wanted to vary the pace.
“On that ball, he stepped out and missed that line. So I think I am very lucky that I was in both the breakthroughs. I also felt that I was the only one on the field who was involved in the run-out and in catches too. So overall a great day for me,” said Axar.
For India, left-arm wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav took 3-40 and Axar felt he is slowly gaining his rhythm after recovering from hernia surgery. “Actually, when there is an injury, it takes time to recover. When you play matches, you get that rhythm. I think he was out for 3-4 months, after that, he played 2-3 matches.
“He was trying to get that rhythm even in continuous practice. You can see that till 40 overs, it was looking like he was a little edgy, but all the teammates were talking to him and backing him by saying that you are the one who will do it for us.
“Then you can see that after 40 overs, the way he bowled, I think his rhythm also came back. The way he bowled slowly, and his natural variation was also visible. He was also playing with a lot of confidence.”
Axar signed off by saying now that India have a six-day break before playing against New Zealand on March 2, he is now anticipating for captain Rohit Sharma to take him out for a dinner, something which he promised to do after denying the spinner a hat-trick by shelling a catch at slips in the win over Bangladesh.
“This was a high-pressure match, and now we have a six-day break; we might have qualified (for the semi-finals). So, I think now, out of the six days, one day I will get that chance to have dinner from him,” he said.
(IANS)
