Axar Patel, an Indian left-arm spinner, etched his name into the record books with a masterclass in death bowling during the first ODI against England at Edgbaston, Birmingham on Tuesday. Axar spun a web around the hosts in the final overs and claimed 4 wickets for 62 runs in 9.5 overs, triggering a dramatic late collapse that saw England bowled out for 258 in 47.5 overs.
With his bowling masterclass, Axar become only the second Indian spinner in history after Ravindra Jadeja to claim four wickets between the 41st and 50th overs of an ODI innings.
Joining An Elite Left-Arm Club
Before Tuesday’s spectacular burst, only one Indian spinner had ever managed to pick up four wickets in the final ten overs of a One-Day International. That record belonged to Ravindra Jadeja, who achieved the rare feat more than a decade ago against Sri Lanka in Port of Spain during the 2013 Tri-Nation Series.
Axar joined his fellow left-arm orthodox maestro by keeping his composure under pressure, utilizing the gripping surface to outsmart the English lower-order as they looked to accelerate. Axar finished with excellent, career-best figures of 4 for 62.
Top-Order Collapse And A Root-Dawson Rescue
Earlier in the day, after England captain Harry Brook won the toss and elected to bat, the Indian pace battery struck early and hard. A fiery opening spell from the returning Jasprit Bumrah – playing his first ODI in 968 days – stifled the openers. Though Bumrah ended with just one wicket, his incredibly disciplined spell (1/31 in 9 overs, including 36 dot balls) set the tone.
Young seamer Gurnoor Brar turned the game by removing both English openers, Ben Duckett (43) and Jacob Bethell (14), in the same over.
Prasidh Krishna then ripped through the middle order, dismissing England captain Jos Buttler – playing his milestone 200th ODI – and Sam Curran cheaply. The double-strike triggered a massive collapse, reducing England from a comfortable 61/0 to a precarious 107 for 6.
Just as India looked set to wrap the game up early, former captain Joe Root and bowling all-rounder Liam Dawson launched a brilliant counter-attack. The duo stitched together a crucial 121-run partnership for the seventh wicket. Root anchored the innings beautifully to finish unbeaten on 76 not out, while Dawson smashed a career-best 68 to push England toward a competitive total.
Axar’s Golden Touch
With the partnership threatening to push England beyond the 275-mark on a bouncing Edgbaston track, Shubman Gill turned back to Axar Patel.
Axar broke the grueling stand in the 44th over by sending back Dawson, before systematically cleaning up the tail. His clinical accuracy completely halted England’s momentum, ensuring the hosts lost their remaining four wickets for just 30 runs.
Brief scores: England 258 all out in 47.5 overs (Joe Root 76, Liam Dawson 68; Axar Patel 4-62, Prasidh Krishna 2-50) against India
Playing XIs For IND vs ENG 1st ODI
India Playing XI: Shubman Gill (c), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer (vc), Washington Sundar, KL Rahul (wk), Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Gurnoor Brar, Jasprit Bumrah, Prasidh Krishna
England Playing XI: Jacob Bethell, Ben Duckett, Joe Root, Harry Brook (c), Jos Buttler (wk), Sam Curran, Will Jacks, Jofra Archer, Liam Dawson, Josh Tongue, Adil Rashid
