The 2023 edition of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy gained steam after Australia beat India by nine wickets in Indore on Friday. Though they still trail 1-2 in the series, they have entered the final of the World Test Championship with a hard-fought win.
India has to win the fourth Test in Ahmedabad to qualify for the final at The Oval in London from June 7.
The Indore loss will hurt the batting group, which has not been consistent in the series, but the rise of all-rounder Axar Patel augurs well as India eyes a second WTC final berth.
Ravindra Jadeja and R Ashwin have been the ICC No. 1 and No. 2 all-rounders. And now, Axar has broken into the elite list at No. 7 after standing out as a batter in the ongoing series. The left-hander scored 84 in Nagpur and 74 in Delhi — India won both the Tests — and ran out of partners in Indore, where he remained unbeaten on 12 and 15 in the two innings.
Getting rid of Jadeja, Ashwin, and Axar is a new challenge for opponent bowlers in red-ball cricket.
Birth of a match-winner
Axar has been a clean-hitter in white-ball cricket. The left-hander presented a glimpse of his talent at Port of Spain last year, when he finished an ODI with an unbeaten 64 off 35 balls against the West Indies.
And all his batting efforts in Test cricket, in the lower order, have helped India to a competitive total from a precarious position. The resolute 52 and 26-ball 41 not out against New Zealand in Mumbai in 2021 saw the versatility of the left-hander gifted with a great sense of timing.
In this series, Axar came into bat at No. 8 in Nagpur with India at 240/7. He spent 245 minutes on the crease to earn his highest Test score of 84 as India ended at 400 in reply to 177 from Australia. The visitors folded for 91 in their second essay, losing by an innings and 132 runs.
In Delhi, he came in at 139/7. India were still 124 runs behind as the Aussies scored 263. The 74 off 115 balls helped India to 262. The visitors lost the plot in the second innings, and were dismissed for 113 as India chased down 115 comfortably.
Off-spinner Nathan Lyon believes Axar and Ashwin are capable top-order batters. "They are not lower-order (batters). Let us get that clear. Axar and Ash could easily bat in the top-six in a few teams in Test cricket around the world in my eyes. They (India) have a very long top order, let's just say that," said the master Australian spin bowler after the Delhi Test.
Ashwin, the fighter
Ashwin has been around for more than a decade. And due to his magical powers with the ball, his batting is not discussed often. The seasoned campaigner has won games for India with the bat too. The most recent being the Test series in Bangladesh, where he remained unbeaten on 42 in the second innings in the second Test in Mirpur while chasing down 145.
He had scored a fifty in the first Test at Chattogram.
Ashwin batted at No. 3 in the Nagpur Test as a night watchman cover for Cheteshwar Pujara, proving his skills as a top-order batter with 20 minutes remaining for stumps. "I wanted to get out there and bat. I was getting suffocated sitting inside the dressing room for hours and hours. I really look forward to going out there and batting. I am getting into good positions. If and when there is an opportunity, I am always ready,” Ashwin, who scored 23 off 62 balls, said at the post-match ceremony.
He scored a valuable 37 in Delhi.
Despite five Test hundreds, the cricketing world remembers Ashwin for the match-saving 39 not out against Australia in Sydney in BGT 2020-21.
The Jadeja factor
Jadeja made a stunning return in the Nagpur Test after a long injury layoff. The slow left-arm orthodox bowler picked up a five-for and ended with figures of 7/81 in two innings. The 70 off 185 with the bat, which involved a 88-run stand with Axar for the eighth wicket, took India to 400 from 229/6.
Cut to Delhi, Jadeja bettered his performance with match-haul of 10/110, including a 7/42 in the second innings. The patient 26 off 74 was a valuable contribution with the bat as India closed in on Australia's first innings total.
Jadeja picked up the Player of the Match award in both Tests but could not continue the magic in Indore. Amid the laurels, he has an area of concern. The left-arm spinner bowled eight no-balls in the high-profile series, which left the commentators and former cricketers fuming.
India captain Rohit Sharma praised the trio for providing the batting depth in the Test side. "It’s a big plus for your batting to go as deep as possible. We have wanted that for so many years. And luckily in these three guys, we have that," he told reporters after the second Test.
Rohit feels leading Axar, Ashwin and Jadeja is like, "captaining (Pat) Cummins, (Josh) Hazlewood and (Mitchell) Starc in Australia."
All three want to bowl, and now, they want to bat too.
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