Axar Patel makes his case with blistering 86 and two wickets for India D on Day 1 of Duleep Trophy

Sept. 5, 2024, 7:30 p.m.

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Axar Patel displayed impressive counter-attacking skills on Thursday for India D against India C on Day 1 of the Duleep Trophy match, making a strong case for inclusion in the Indian Test team. Facing a challenging situation with India D at 48/6, Axar smashed 86 runs off just 118 balls, significantly boosting India D's score to 164, ahead of the Bangladesh series commencing on 19 September.

India C pacers Anshul Kamboj (2/47) and Vijaykumar Vyshak (3/19) were the most impressive bowlers for India C, delivering outstanding performances.

Advertisement In response, India C were 91 for four at stumps on day one, trailing India D by 73 runs. Following pacer Harshit Rana’s twin strike in the first 10 overs, Axar got rid of Aryan Juyal (12) and Rajat Patidar (13) to make a big impact on the game.

Wicketkeeper batter Abhishek Porel (32 not out) was a standout performer for India C, displaying impressive form alongside Baba Indrajith (14 not out) at the end of the day's play.

Axar dominated the India C bowlers earlier in the day after a majority of the India D batters fell victim to reckless shots.

Axar Patel on 🔥

Axar reaches his half-century with a powerful six off Manav Suthar! #DuleepTrophy | @IDFCFIRSTBankhttps://t.co/u0KTJISm6b pic.twitter.com/g8lVbi52Vp

— BCCI Domestic (@BCCIdomestic) September 5, 2024 The southpaw, who has impressed with the bat both in red and white ball games for India in the recent past, hammered as many half a dozen sixes. He especially enjoyed batting against fellow left-arm spinner Manav Suthar, clobbering him for three maximums.

Axar employed the slog sweep to relieve pressure early in his innings before hitting Suthar for back-to-back sixes in the 39th over.

Some of the shot selections from other batsmen were questionable. Skipper Shreyas Iyer (9) fell to a beautiful delivery from Vyshak, while opener Atharva Taide (4) and Devdutt Padikkal (0) tried to accelerate too quickly in their innings. Taide attempted a pull shot on the fifth ball of the day and was caught at fine leg, while Padikkal was caught at cover by opposition captain Ruturaj Gaikwad, falling to a standard delivery from Vyshak.

Advertisement Brief scores: India D was all out for 164 runs in 48.3 overs. Axar Patel top-scored with 86 runs, while Vijaykumar Vyshak picked up 3 wickets for 19 runs.

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India C reached 91 runs for the loss of four wickets in 33 overs. Abhishek Porel remained unbeaten on 32, while Axar Patel took 2 wickets for 16 runs.

With agency inputs