For Vishal Jayswal, Friday evening in Bengaluru will stay with him for a very long time. The Gujarat left-arm spinner not only produced the best spell of his List-A career against a star-studded Delhi side but also picked up the biggest wicket any domestic cricketer can dream of. The dismissal of Virat Kohli. What followed after the match, though, mattered even more for the budding cricketer, who has been guided by Axar Patel behind the scenes.
The 27-year-old left-arm spinner was the standout performer in Gujarat’s narrow seven-run defeat to Delhi in the Vijay Hazare Trophy at the BCCI Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru. His spell of 4 for 42 not only kept Delhi to a manageable 254, but also included the prized wicket of Kohli, who had looked in ominous touch after racing to his fifty in 29 balls.
Jayswal tempted Kohli out of the crease in the 22nd over. The ball dipped, spun past the bat, and wicketkeeper Urvil Patel whipped off the bails in one motion. Kohli walked back for a fluent 77, and Jayswal was obviously cock-a-hoop. But what followed after the match is what Jayswal will remember for long.
“Achha ball daalta hai”: Kohli’s message to Jayswal
Long after players had returned to their dressing rooms, Jayswal requested the match ball from the umpire and nervously walked towards the Delhi camp. Spotting Kohli, he hesitated. Kohli noticed him, smiled, and waved him in. In a chat with the Times of India, Jayswal revealed his interaction with Kohli and cricketing journey.
“Aaja, aaja (come here),” Kohli said. Jayswal pulled the ball from his pocket. “Bhaiya, ball pe ek autograph chahiye.” Kohli put his kit aside, made him sit down, and signed the ball. Then came the words that truly mattered.
“Achha ball daalta hai. Hard work karta rah. Opportunity aayega. Wait kar and mehnat kar.” (You bowl really well. Keep working hard. Your opportunity will come. Be patient and keep putting in the effort.) Jayswal later admitted the pressure of bowling to a modern great. “Just sharing the field with him is huge. I had no specific plan. He spoke about staying calm, about fitness, about handling pressure.“
Despite dominating every other bowler, Kohli was kept quiet by Jayswal. In fact, he gave away just five runs off the 12 deliveries he bowled to him and walked away by completely bamboozling him. To put things into perspective, Kohli couldn’t free up his arms against the 27-year-old and thus had a strike rate of just over 40 against him. Whereas against all other bowlers, it was 147.
Axar Patel’s guidance for Vishal Jayswal
There’s no dearth of left-arm spin-bowling all-rounders in the Indian circuit. While the likes of Axar Patel and Ravindra Jadeja are powering the cream layer, budding cricketers like Manav Suthar, Sai Kishore, Harsh Dubey, Nishant Sindhu and Shahbaz Ahmed are there and thereabouts. Now, with the prized wicket of Kohli, Jayswal has put himself on the map as well.
Fortunately for him, Jayswal’s journey has deep roots in Nadiad, the same town where Axar Patel learned his craft. And like Kohli’s words, Axar’s influence runs deep. “Axar bhai has helped me with everything — kit, bats, jerseys, mindset. I want to be a spin-bowling all-rounder like him,” Jayswal said. “I’ve always wanted to be a spin-bowling all-rounder like him. He teaches me how to be a game-changer — when to attack, how to control the run rate, and how to stay mentally strong.”
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