I always love putting Axar under pressure and the way he bowled was unbelievable: Suryakumar Yadav

Axar Patel (Photo Source: Twitter)

Axar Patel was phenomenal with the line and length in the fourth T20I against Australia as India won the match by 20 runs. Chasing 175 runs, Travis Head gave the team a blistering start but Axar picked up his wicket in the powerplay to give a major blow to Australia. The southpaw was in a good touch and if he could have managed to stick to the crease, the result could have been different.

The all-rounder went on to pick up the wickets of Aaron Hardie and Ben McDermott as well. He finished on 16/3 in four matches and was also adjudged Player of the Match. Speaking about his performance after the match, skipper Suryakumar Yadav lauded Axar and mentioned that he always love to put the 29-year-old under pressure. The flamboyant batter also shared that the team planned to bowl yorkers in the death overs to restrict Australia.

“Other than toss, everything (went well). Boys showed character and that was most important for us. We spoke in the meeting before the game to go out and express yourself and be fearless. I always love putting Axar under pressure and the way he bowled was unbelievable. The plan (during the death overs) was to go for the yorkers and then see what happens,” Yadav was quoted as saying by NDTV after the match.

Rinku-Jitesh stand highlighted India’s win against Australia in Raipur

Meanwhile, there were a lot of positives from India’s win in the fourth T20I in Raipur. Rinku Singh (46 runs off 29 deliveries) once again put up a stellar show, while Jitesh Sharma (35 runs off 19 deliveries) also played some brilliant cricket under pressure. The duo stitched a partnership of 58 runs, which helped India post a defendable total.

On the other hand, Deepak Chahar made his return to the Indian team, while Shreyas Iyer played his first T20I game in over a year. The aim now will be to finish strongly in Bengaluru before travelling to South Africa.