Team India started on a positive note in the third Test against England in Ahmedabad where they successfully restricted the visitors within a below-par. And, the credit goes to the spinners. While fast bowlers couldn’t do much in the first innings, it was the spinners who dismantled the batting line up, especially left-arm spinner Axar Patel, who picked up 6-38 in just his second Test.
“When the fast bowlers were bowling there was a trough in the landing area so there was a problem the length of the ball right. So I had to come in early. I think the pink ball has glare which is why it was skidding off the wicket. Because of that I got leg-before wicket decision. I think the difference in pink and red ball was that the former was skidding more than the latter did at the Chennai wicket,” added Patel who has been playing his second Test that too at his home ground.
While England players were seen as comfortable against pacers, India captain Virat Kohli didn’t waste much time to introduce spinners and Axar Patel was brought in the seventh over as well and he soon removed Jonny Bairstow on the first ball of his first over as well. However, he bowled only 21.4 overs for his six-wicket haul.
“When the ball is skidding, you try to bowl wicket to wicket. So (in that case) if somebody plays little back to a ball that is full, then you get leg before or bowled. I was talking to Ash (R Ashwin who took three wickets) and said that only one or two balls are turning, the rest are skidding. Our plan was to bowl wicket to wicket. I was trying to bowl fast because it was skidding more. New ball…I wanted to take advantage of. Old ball wasn’t skidding that much,” the spinner further added.
However, he was impressive in his first Test too. During the second innings of the second Test, the 27-year-old spinner claimed a five-wicket haul and helped his side win as well. And, he said that this performance had given him the confidence to perform well and the belief to give trouble to the opponents as well.
However, Team India have lost 3 wickets already in their first innings and currently at 99-3 with Rohit Sharma (57*) and Ajinkya Rahane (1*) in the middle.
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