Live Score
Cricket Teams
Cricket PlayersAxar Patel fielding magic draws comparison to Kapil Dev from 1983 World Cup alumnus: ‘Reminded me of Viv Richards catch’
Axar Patel made an incredible impact with his fielding alone, taking a sensational catch to remove Harry Brook before relaying one to dismiss Will Jacks.
Sanju Samson won Player of the Match for his 89 off 42 deliveries, and Jasprit Bumrah got plenty of plaudits for conceding next to nothing in a match where 499 runs were scored. However, in the T20 World Cup semi-final between India and England, with India advancing to the finals, the player with arguably the most impact for the men in blue was their vice-captain. Axar Patel only bowled three overs and faced two balls, but also took two sensational catches, whose impact will reverberate for months to come.
The first of these two catches, to remove Harry Brook, was also extremely reminiscent of perhaps the most important catch in Indian cricket history – Kapil Dev’s stunning backwards-running catch to dismiss Vivian Richards at Lord’s in the 1983 World Cup final, without which India would never have lifted the trophy.
The comparison was made to Kapil Dev by his teammate from the ‘83 World Cup, Krishnamachari Srikkanth. Speaking on his YouTube channel, the former Indian opener could not stop from lavishing praise on Axar for his athleticism.
"This is a different-level catch. That too on Bumrah’s first ball. Brook hit it somewhere and the ball kept going. Running back almost 20 yards, diving, and he was just watching the ball the whole time,” said Srikkanth. “He didn’t leave it. If you lose sight of it, then diving backwards becomes even more difficult. Don’t forget that. It’s not very, very easy."
Technically, the catch to remove Brook was perfection. Axar tracked the ball over his shoulder the whole way, making up a lot of distance with his speed and buying himself enough time to slow down and get set underneath the ball. Even then, he made the late adjustment and put in the dive to seal the catch.
"This reminded me of Kapil Dev taking that catch to dismiss Viv Richards. Here Axar hit the dive and got it. This catch by Axar — it was a superb catch," commended Srikkanth.
Will Jacks' catch the turning point
The second of the two catches was no less spectacular from the Indian all-rounder, and had even more of an impact. Will Jacks was in great touch and looked to have smoked Arshdeep Singh for six over cover. However, Axar showed off his athleticism again, making distance on the boundary rope to get both hands on the ball, and all the awareness to flip it to Shivam Dube to complete the catch.
"The turning point of the match was the Will Jacks catch. The time when Will Jacks got out and the catch that was taken — what a catch it was. The way he caught it that ball was almost going for a six. We were thinking it would go for six,” said Srikkanth of that catch.
“Just look at that moment. That alone saved six runs. If Will Jacks had stayed, he would have finished the match. As long as Will Jacks was there, the match was actually in England’s hands," concluded the former Indian batter, as Axar and co. prepare for Sunday’s final where they have the chance to defend their title on home turf.
