'It's good to see all the three spinners firing and very well supported by Hardik and Bumrah.'
India captain Suryakumar Yadav was full of praise for all-rounder Axar Patel after his impactful performance against Pakistan in their Asia Cup match in Dubai, lauding the extra effort he puts in during nets to tackle left-handers and the "clarity" with which he approaches his batting.
Along with Kuldeep Yadav, who grabbed 3/18, Axar played a vital role getting 2/18 besides bowling 15 dot balls each in the game that India won by seven wickets. The dangerous Fakhar Zaman, who has a great record against slow left-arm orthodox bowlers, was lured into going for a big hit and caught at long-on.
"I feel he (Axar) is a very experienced campaigner. He has been around the Indian team for a very, very long time. So he knows his job really well. His plans are very clear," Suryakumar said at the post-match conference on Sunday.
"Whenever I see him at practice, he bowls a lot to the left-handers because that's a proper match-up. You feel if a left-hander is walking in, you can't bowl a left-arm spinner.
"But he practices more to the left-handed batters. And when he bowls to the right-handers, he has his own plans," the India skipper revealed what goes into the training of one of his senior players.
India's bowlers sent down a total of 63 dot balls in their 20 overs -- a dot ball percentage of more than 50 percent. The spin trio of Axar, Kuldeep and Varun Chakravarthy combined bowled 40 dot balls in the 12 overs bowled between them.
Dot balls by India's bowlers against Pakistan:
| Bowler | Match Figures | Dot Balls |
|---|---|---|
| Hardik Pandya | 3/34 in 4 overs | 7 |
| Jasprit Bumrah | 2/28 in 4 overs | 15 |
| Varun Chakravarthy | 1/24 in 4 overs | 10 |
| Kuldeep Yadav | 3/18 in 4 overs | 15 |
| Axar Patel | 2/18 in 4 overs | 15 |
| Abhishek Sharma | 0/5 in 1 over | 1 |
He also stressed on the importance of Axar as an all-rounder, indicating that he would be used as a floater, something that Rohit Sharma had done with considerable success in big events like the T20 World Cup and Champions Trophy.
"And I am really happy with his clear plans and also his batting. I am sure it will be used. As you have seen in Champions Trophy, it was used really well by Rohit bhai and the team management. And I am sure if given an opportunity, he will grab it with both hands as well," Suryakumar said.
Kuldeep has been another success story in the ongoing event, snaring seven wickets in two games with back-to-back Player of The Match awards. The skipper was expectedly delighted with his run so far.
"Yeah, Kuldeep, I know he was with the Test team. He couldn't get an opportunity to play. But he was working really hard on his fitness, on his bowling. And you can see it. Two games in a row, he's won you the game," he said.
When asked if his spinners gave him the perfect 35th birthday gift, the skipper replied in jest: "No, they got 12 overs, four each for everyone, it was a return gift for them."
On a more serious note, Suryakumar was happy that he had an experienced spin attack at his disposal, which basically runs on "auto-pilot", according to him.
"...they are working hard, you can see it in their practice, they want to prepare really well. And if you come on the ground, you can see how well they are prepared.
"And they are very clear with their plans and that's what I want, it makes my job very easy when I'm on the ground. They are happy with the fields, they are happy with the ends which they are bowling from.
"And it's good to see all the three spinners firing and very well supported by Hardik (Pandya) and (Jasprit) Bumrah. I feel we bowled well and we batted the way the wicket demanded, the need of the hour."
Suryakumar also made it clear that the team management wants to use Bumrah as an attacking option.
"Till today, I mean, we've bowled him for one over or two overs in the Powerplay. But he's never bowled three overs in the Powerplay. So, we just wanted to try how things go ahead. And we're very happy we're using him as an attacking option."
Bumrah bowling three overs upfront also gives the captain a chance to manoeuvre with Hardik Pandya and Shivam Dube's overs.
"If he picks two wickets or even if he bowls a tight spell of three overs, then later on, we have a good cushion for all the spinners to come over and make our job a little easier.
"So, we want to use him as an attacking option, he is very happy with it. And that gives a good platform for someone like Hardik and Shivam Dubey also to raise their hand to bowl crucial overs in the end and also in the middle. So, we are very happy with that."
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