Live Score
Cricket Teams
Cricket Players
India vs England: 'I wanted him to be my first wicket,' How Axar Patel planned Joe Root’s fall
The left-arm off-spinner said that he was extremely happy to terminate the in-form English skipper and also revealed that he had a plan against him.
A day after making his Test debut against England in Chennai, all-rounder Axar Patel ousted the visiting captain Joe Root to register his maiden wicket on Sunday. He led Root to miscue a sweep shot and Ravichandran Ashwin caught an easy catch to send the England skipper, who has been in a stupendous form, back to the pavilion for a mere score of 6.
After the end of the second day’s play, Axar spoke about Root’s dismissal. In a conversation with his teammate and senior batsman Cheteshwar Pujara, the left-arm off-spinner said that he was extremely happy to terminate the in-form English skipper and also revealed that he had a plan against him.
Also read: ‘When in Chennai, you Whistle Podu’: Virat Kohli encourages Chennai crowd
“When I was watching the first Test, I noticed that Joe Root plays a lot of sweep and reverse sweep shots, and I thought that with the speed that I bowl at, I had the opportunity to get him out, and I wanted my first wicket to be his dismissal.
“I thought that if he tries to sweep my delivery, he may get out LBW. When he went for the sweep shot and made the mistake, to get an in-form batsman who has recently hit multiple centuries and double centuries. You can see it in the video how happy I was to get the wicket,” Axar said.
It was a dream debut for Axar as he gathered two important wickets of Joe Root and Moeen Ali and ended with bowling figures of 2-40 in his 20 overs. Expressing himself after getting to represent his country, Axar said, “No words can describe the feeling of playing Test cricket for India. It feels really good.”
Axar was initially supposed to play the first Test against England as well but was ruled out at the last minute due to an injury. Due to this, Shahbaz Nadeem was given a chance but he could not capitalise on the opportunity.
