Axar Patel, Team India’s all-rounder, shared his thoughts on taking the crucial wicket of Muhammad Rizwan during the high-pressure 2025 Champions Trophy clash against Pakistan. Axar bowled Rizwan for 46 soon after Harshit Rana dropped his catch off Hardik Pandya at Dubai on February 23.
Earlier, Rizwan and Saud Shakeel had steadied Pakistan’s innings after losing two early wickets at 47-2 in the 10th over. The duo played cautiously against India’s spinners but looked to accelerate after setting a solid foundation.
With Pakistan crossing the 150-run mark, India needed a breakthrough. Rizwan attempted a slog off Pandya in the 33rd over, but Rana missed the catch in the deep. Axar Patel dismissed Rizwan in the next over with a slower delivery as he misjudged and was bowled.
“Obviously, a plan was in place. Just a ball before, a catch was dropped off Hardik’s bowling. And when I saw him, Hardik was really angry. When I came onto bowl, I didn’t think that he would charge at me the very first ball, so I bowled it real slow.”
“He must have thought that on that pitch I will hit the length instead of flighting it up, but I bowled it slow because they were looking to rotate the strike. So, I think I am very lucky that I was involved in both breakthroughs,” Axar Patel said (via ICC’s official Instagram account).
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“He Worked Hard to Regain Rhythm”- Axar Patel on Kuldeep
Kuldeep Yadav’s return to form was a major positive in India’s win over Pakistan. After struggling post-injury and going wicketless against Bangladesh, he found his rhythm, using flight and variations to dismiss Salman Ali Agha, Naseem Shah, and Shaheen Afridi in the third powerplay.
“When you return from an injury, it takes some time to get back to full tilt. You find the rhythm only after playing matches. I think he was out for close to 3-4 months, then he played a couple of matches. He was trying hard in practice to find rhythm like before,” Axar Patel said in the same interview.
“Today you could see that he was not at his best until the 40th over. But all teammates went up and spoke to him, and kept backing him by telling him that you will do it for us. Then you saw how he bowled after the 40th over. He got his rhythm back, he was bowling it slower in the air, was also bowling his natural variations, and looked confident too,” he added.
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