Delhi Capitals spinner Axar Patel has revealed that he was confident of delivering the goods in the Super Over contest against Sunrisers Hyderabad in IPL 2021.
Patel stated that the team management was thinking of giving the ball to Avesh Khan but he convinced captain Rishabh Pant that he will be more effective on the pitch, which was aiding the spinners.
In fact, Kagiso Rabada had bowled the final over of the innings but he had conceded 15 runs. Thus, it made sense to give the ball to a spinner.
Axar Patel was able to deliver the goods as he conceded only seven runs in the over and he was right on the money. Subsequently, Shikhar Dhawan and Rishabh Pant were able to chase down the target to help their team get valuable two points.
“Because the pitch was aiding spinners, I thought I or Ashwin would be bowling the Super Over. But then I saw the think tank gathered around Avesh Khan. When I asked (Steve) Smith, he told me that Avesh will bowl the Super Over. I was confident that I could do better than Avesh under the conditions. I then went up to Rishabh (Pant) and said that I can bowl the Super Over without conceding many runs. Pant consulted coach Ricky (Ponting), and he gave the captain the freedom to take the final call,” Axar told India TV.
“I knew I could either become a hero or a zero. For a few moments, my heartbeat did increase. But I had the confidence and mental strength to pull me through,” he added.
On the other hand, Sunrisers Hyderabad made a tactical error as they opened the innings with Kane Williamson and David Warner. Many cricket pundits thought Jonny Bairtsow who had scored a fine knock of 38 runs off just 18 balls should have batted with Kane Williamson instead of David Warner.
Meanwhile, Axar Patel has grown in confidence since delivering the goods in the Test series against England. Patel had scalped 27 wickets in three Test matches and he had done a fine job for the Virat Kohli-led team.
Delhi Capitals won six matches out of the eight they played and were at the top of the points table before the tournament was postponed indefinitely by the BCCI.
