Watch: Axar Patel Pins Zak Crawley Plumb In Front Of Wickets

Zak Crawley’s brilliant counterattacking knock of 53 (84) finally came to an end as Axar Patel’s perseverance eventually paid dividends as the slow left-arm orthodox trapped the England opener plumb in front of the wicket.

Axar Patel had Crawley like a cat on a hot tin roof throughout his knock as he constantly got one to turn, bounce, and beat his outside edge besides sliding in the straighter one.

And, Crawley eventually succumbed to Axar’s relentless ploy. It all happened on the fourth ball of the 25th over when Patel dished out a slider that went in with the angle.

Crawley expected it to turn and played the forward defense, only to see the ball sneak past the inside edge. The Indians went up straightaway and Umpire Nitin Menon had no hesitation in raising his finger.

Crawley hung around for a bit before taking a long walk back to the pavilion after Ben Stokes advised him to not burn the review, given the fact that it was absolutely plumb.

Zak Crawley’s wicket came at the wrong time for England, not only because they had just lost their skipper Joe Root but also because the Kent batsman was looking so good during his stay at the crease.

He might have missed the first two Tests due to injury but it certainly did not look that he was short was batting practice. Zak Crawley’s driving- especially against the pacers- was right out of the top drawer.

The opener launched a brilliant counterattack on the  Indians after England had lost two quick wickets in the form of Dom Sibley and Jonny Bairstow. He smashed as many as 10 boundaries during his knock and the visitors would have hoped for him to be at the crease at the Lunch break.

Watch the dismissal here: