Our Bureau
Mumbai
Cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar has given big praise to India’s Axar Patel for his amazing fielding in the T20 World Cup semifinal against England at Wankhede Stadium. India won a thrilling match by stopping England’s strong chase, and Axar played a key role with his sharp skills on the field.
India posted a huge score of 253 for 7, thanks to Sanju Samson’s fast batting. England fought back hard with Jacob Bethell’s brilliant century, hitting 105 off 48 balls with many fours and sixes. But Axar’s quick moves changed the game. Early on, he ran 24 meters to dive and catch England captain Harry Brook off Jasprit Bumrah’s slower ball. This broke England’s flow when Brook looked dangerous.
Later, Axar stopped Will Jacks near the boundary at deep point. He chased a sliced shot, grabbed it while falling, and threw it to Shivam Dube for the catch. Jacks was out, and the Bethell-Jacks stand ended. Axar also took a clean catch of Phil Salt off Hardik Pandya at cover.
Speaking on JioHotstar, Gavaskar called Axar’s Brook catch “unbelievable.” He said, “Brook can take the game away. Axar ran far, kept eyes on the ball, and took it perfectly.” Gavaskar added that Axar is filling the gap left by Ravindra Jadeja in fielding. “With his bat, ball, and smarts as vice-captain, Axar will be one of India’s greats. His bowling is getting better each year,” he noted.
Bethell’s knock kept England alive till the last over, but a run-out ended his stay. India held on for victory and moved closer to the final. Fans cheered Axar’s all-round show, proving he is a star in big games.
