Watch: Axar Patel Dismisses Ryan Sidebottom In A Bizarre Manner

Cricket can be cruel sometimes and Ryan Sidebottom will agree to it after being dismissed in a bizarre fashion by India allrounder Axar Patel during the County Championship Division Two match between Durham and Warwickshire.

Sidebottom must have thought he was safe when he flicked an Axar delivery towards short leg. However, his fortunes changed in a blink of an eye when the ball hit the fielder at short-leg before ballooning towards Axar who was standing on the pitch. It was easiest of the catches and Axar made no mistake at all in pouching it.

Here is a clip of that bizarre dismissal:

What the…?@akshar2026 finishes with seven & Durham need 218 to win#ForTheNorth pic.twitter.com/Ro4MfODScz

— Durham Cricket (@DurhamCricket) September 7, 2018

Meanwhile, Axar once again impressed with the ball to put Durham in a strong position. The allrounder took 7 for 54 to take his tally of wickets to nine in the game. His stunning spell left Durham with a target of 218 to register their fourth win of the County Championship.

Patel’s seven wickets included Ian Bell, Tim Ambrose and Warwickshire captain Jeetan Patel. His spell helped Durham bowl out the hosts for just 199 from 47 for 1.

However, Durham failed to capitalise on the chance and somehow managed to draw the game. Durham had 41 overs to chase down 218. But pacer Olly Stone’s four-wicket haul helped the home side reduce the visitors to 102 for 8.

Durham’s ninth-wicket pair of Stuart Poynter and Matt Salisbury then survived the final six nervy overs before the game ended.

Meanwhile, this is the second notable contribution from Axar in County Championship this season. On his Durham debut last month, Axar had scored 95 not out in an innings win over Glamorgan.

The southpaw signed with Durham for their last six Championship games. He has been in England for much of the summer, having played for India A since mid-June. So far, Axar has played 38 ODIs and 11 T20Is for India. He was recently included in the squad for the upcoming Asia Cup.