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Axar Patel made England opener Jonny Bairstow his bunny in the recently concluded third Test at Narendra Modi Cricket Stadium in Ahmedabad. In the first innings, Axar had dismissed Bairstow for a nine-ball duck. The left-armer continued his superb bowling display when he came to deliver the pink-leather in the second innings.
Axar almost got a hat-trick, but Bairstow survived after taking a decision review system (DRS). On the very next ball, the 27-year-old cleaned up Bairstow for a two-ball duck. The Yorkshire batsman played for the turn, but the ball went straight, pierced the gap between bat and pad, and clipped at the top of leg-stump.
Here is the video:
Axar bapu ripper to Bairstow#INDvENG pic.twitter.com/jpwutOt6IJ
— Lofted drive (@DriveLofted) February 25, 2021
Axar registers best bowling figure in a Day/Night Test
On Thursday, Axar created history by picking up most wickets in a Day/Night Test. In the first innings, he bagged six scalps, while in the second essay, Axar earned another fifer to complete 11 wickets in the match.
Axar (11/70) now has the best match figures for any bowler in Day/Night Tests. Australian pace sensation Pat Cummins achieved the previous best when he had earned 10 wickets for 62 runs against Sri Lanka at Brisbane in 2019/20.
Axar also joined teammate Ravichandran Ashwin when he removed English opener Zak Crawley on the first ball of England’s second innings. In the last 100 years, no spinner apart from Ashwin and Axar has ever taken a wicket off the first ball of an innings.
Spinners to take a wicket off the first ball of an innings:
- Bobby Peel, 1888
- Bert Vogler, 1907
- Ravichandran Ashwin, 2021 (First Test vs England)
- Axar Patel, 2021 (Third Test vs England)*
