All-rounder Axar Patel has been making rapid strides as a batsman in the last 12 months and has credited Delhi Capitals coach Ricky Ponting for the change in his batting approach that played a key role in fine-tuning his batting. Akshar has done exceptionally well in the last three months across all formats. In the second Test on Saturday, he shared a match-changing 74-run stand with Ravichandran Ashwin (37 runs).
The two put on a 114-run partnership for the eighth wicket, leaving India on 262, just one run behind Australia’s first innings score. Akshar’s 84 in the first Test at Nagpur helped India post 400 as the hosts bundled out Australia. After stumps on the second day of the second Test, Akshar said, “I talked a lot with Ricky in Delhi Capitals about how I can improve my batting. Even in the Indian team, I have been talking to the batsmen.I felt I wasn’t living up to my potential by scoring 30s and 40s, I wasn’t able to ‘finish’ the match. ,
“So it was a lot about mental strength. Sometimes as an all-rounder, you get comfortable after taking wickets, which can lead to carelessness. So I thought I can improve on that by converting those 30s and 40s into match-winning scores. ‘ Akshar said, ‘I think like that now and it has made a lot of difference. Axar and Ashwin were also praised by Australian spinner Nathan Lyon, who feels the Indian spin duo can bat well in the top six of any international team.
