After New Zealand, Team India are now going to face Australia in the series consisting of four Test matches which will get underway on February 9. The first match will be held in Nagpur and the Australian team have already started their practice in Bengaluru. According to the news, the Australian team is practising keeping in mind the Indian spinners and are trying to bring their ‘A’ game. The Indian team have quality spinners like Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, and Kuldeep Yadav, but Axar Patel might be the biggest threat to this team according to the Aussies.
It is unclear why are the Baggy Greens studying Axar in particular, given that they seldom face the spinner in the longest format of the game. It remains to be seen if they would open up on the same but the news from Australia’s practice camp is that they are practising more against those balls which come into the batter quickly. According to a report published in the Sydney Morning Herald, the Australian team is feeling more threatened by balls that go straight than balls that turn.
Axar Patel is in brilliant form in red-ball cricket
Axar shows more confidence in the slider ball than in the turn as the delivery comes inside very fast. This ball often hits the pads of the batter or his stump flies, if missed. Axar, who was once considered a T20I and ODI specialist, is now wreaking havoc in the longest format as well, fast becoming India’s all-format player. The talented allrounder has gathered 47 wickets in 8 Test matches in Jadeja’s absence and it was in this space, he achieved the feat of taking 5 wickets in innings five times.
The special quality about Axar is that the speed of his balls is much faster than Ashwin, Jadeja, and Kuldeep. The spinner’s ball does not turn much, but the ball which slides inside often troubles the batters. That being said, even if Pat Cummins and his men manage to find a way out of Axar, the likes of Jadeja and Ashwin could come as a headache on the back of their experience and their ability to slide the ball well.
The Australian team are coming to India after a big win over South Africa, with players like Steve Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, and Travis Head in red-hot form. At the same time, in the bowling department, names like Cummins, Mitchell Starc, and Nathan Lyon are giving strength to this powerful team. It remains to be seen whether the Australian team will be able to challenge India on their soil, given that it is the Indian team who won the previous two series when they toured Australia in 2028/19 and 2020/21.
Here’s how the fans reacted:
Then possibly we don't play him at all.
— KK_M (@kmusun1) February 2, 2023
Bahut hard tyarii chal raha hai bhai
— Ankit 🇮🇳 (@Ankitrox0) February 2, 2023
Axar is a extremely dangerous player in home conditions
— Nitz (@villian2017) February 2, 2023
Waiting for Kuldeep/ Jaddu to come out of syllabus for the Aussies😂
— Bhargav Nimmagadda (@bhargavvvv3) February 2, 2023
जी जनाब, सुना है उन के बैडरूम में hidden camera पाया गया! चूतिये ऑसी। आपड़ो अक़सर अक्सर पहले से जानता है ओपोनंट का ईंन्टेनसन! इसलिए उसने बैड बाहर लगा या था😛
— Contrapuntal poem (@ShabdaBindu) February 2, 2023
They are not prepared for Virat Kohli the bowler
— A (@KingKohli74) February 2, 2023
Bhai usko honeymoon manane do bechare ko aur Washi ko chance dedo. Aus ko shock krdena 😹😹
— NIKHIL (@nikhil_nsu) February 2, 2023
Shadi ki footage study karke kaise pata laga lenge ki huge threat hai
— भाई साहब (@Bhai_saheb) February 2, 2023
