Axar Patel Records: Top 5 bowling performances of Axar Patel in Tests

Axar Patel has been one of the finest all-rounders for India over the years now. The left-arm spinning all-rounder has been the first choice in the home conditions alongside Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja. He is a key member a part of the limited-overs squad for India but he has never been short of impactful performances whenever he has been given an opportunity to showcase his skills in Test cricket. 

Axar is currently part of the India team that is hosting England for a 5-match T20I series. The all-rounder has made himself the obvious choice for the side in the longest format of the game in the subcontinent conditions. He also has a good record against the three Lions as well. Since making his debut in 2021 he has been a performer for the Men in Blue in the traditional format. 

In this article, we will be looking at the top bowling performance of the 30-year-old all-rounder in the red-ball format for India over the years. 

Here are the top 5 bowling performances in Test cricket 

5. 5/62 vs New Zealand, 2021 (Kanpur) 

Axar Patel registered his fifth five-wicket haul in only his fourth Test match against New Zealand at the Green Park in Kanpur. This was his fifth fifer in just 7 innings. With the help of his five-wicket haul the Men in Blue had got a crucial 49-run first-innings lead. The Men in Blue batting first scoring 345 runs with Shreyas Iyer scoring a hundred. The match ended in a draw with Rachin Ravindra and Ajaz Patel staying till the end of Day 5. 

4. 5/60 vs England, 2021 (Chennai)

In the second innings of the 2nd Test match against England, Axar picked up 5 wickets and helped India win the game by 317 runs. Batting first captain Rohit Sharma scored a brilliant 161 runs in the first of the visitors, Ravichandran Ashwin picked 5 with Patel picking 2 wickets. In total, he finished the test with 7 wickets and spun a web along the English batters as they had no answer to his bowling. 

3. 5/48 vs England, 2021 (Ahmedabad) 

Axar in the fourth and final Test match of the series in Ahmedabad picked up another 5 wicket haul. England was forced to follow on, but the left-arm spinner did not allow the opposition to mount a comeback, as India won the game by an innings and 25 runs. This was his third five wicket-haul in his third game only and finished the series with the second-highest wicket taker with 27 wickets. 

2. 5/32 vs England, 2021 (Ahmedabad) 

In the 3rd Test against England Axar was once again the hero in the second innings as he picked 5 wickets in the 2nd innings leading an England bowl-out for 81 runs. The English batting unit was helpful against Axar. He picked up the wickets of Joe Root, Zak Crawley, Dom Sibley, Ben Foakes, and Jonny Bairstow to complete his second 5-wicket haul as India won the game by 10 wickets. 

1. 6/30 vs England, 2021 (Ahmedabad) 

This is the best bowling performance for the 30-year-old allrounder as he picked his first five-wicket haul in the first innings of the same test match. He picked up 6 wickets in the first innings which helped India to bowl out England innings for just 112 runs. In the second innings also he picked a fifer and led with 11 wickets in the single test match in debut for the side.