IND vs PAK: Rohit Sharma Explains Why Axar Patel Was Promoted Up The Order Against Pakistan

India captain Rohit Sharma talked about sending all-rounder Axar Patel ahead of Hardik Pandya in the Men in Blue’s 4-wicket win over Pakistan in their ICC T20 World Cup 2022 tournament opener on October 23 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).

Set 160 runs to win India lost KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma for 4 runs each and then Axar Patel got run out for nothing. Suryakumar Yadav hit 15 glorious runs but fell to Haris Rauf. Then Kohli and Hardik Pandya (40) added 113 runs for the fifth wicket to bring India back into the game.

In the last two overs, India needed 31 runs to win and despite a good start to the 19^th over by Haris Rauf, Kohli kept India in the hunt with two sixes on the last two balls. With 16 needed off the last over, Hardik Pandya, got out on the first ball and Dinesh Karthik was soon stumped by Mohammad Rizwan.

In the end, Virat Kohli remained 82* with 6 fours and 4 sixes to his name as India won on the last ball of the match by 4 wickets. The Men in Blue will now face the Netherlands on October 27 in Sydney.

However, during the post-match press conference, Rohit Sharma was asked by a journalist about sending Axar Patel up the order, ahead of Hardik Pandya at no.5 while India was 31/4. Rohit explained that Axar was sent up the order to counter the Pakistani spinners, unfortunately, he got run out in a misunderstanding with Virat Kohli for 2 runs.

Rohit said: “When we lost the first two wickets early of myself and KL Rahul, then we felt that our middle order shouldn’t be exposed so early as the ball was getting bounce form the pitch and bowlers were getting help. Hence, we sent in Axar and he got to bat in the last over of powerplay, when Surya got out. We knew there would be 8 overs of spin, hence sending a left-hander up to put pressure on the spinners, was a sensible decision on our part. But unfortunately, he got run out in the first over itself.”

Iftikhar Ahmed And Shan Masood Shine With The Bat For Pakistan

After being asked to bat first by Rohit Sharma, who won the toss, Pakistan lost Babar Azam for a golden duck and Mohammad Rizwan was also dismissed cheaply.

But then, Iftikhar Ahmed (51) and Shan Masood (52*) added 76 runs for the third wicket after Arshdeep Singh with 3/32, had removed captain Babar Azam for a golden duck and then sent back Mohammad Rizwan for cheap. The duo and some late hitting from Shaheen Afridi, took Pakistan to 159/8 in 20 overs. Apart from Arshdeep, Hardik Pandya also took 3/30 in his 4 overs.

Also Read: IND vs PAK: Watch – Rahul Dravid, Rishabh Pant Hug Virat Kohli After India’s Win Over Pakistan At The MCG