Axar Patel has achieved a major landmark in his international career. The former vice-captain of the side has completed 100 T20 international wickets, becoming the first-ever Indian spinner to do so. In the second T20 international, where Vaibhav Sooryavanshi has made his debut, Axar bagged the prized wicket of Harry Brook.
Axar was stranded on 99 wickets for a couple of games, including the previous one where the match was abandoned before Inida’s bowling innings. But now, he has completed the much-awaited feat to become only the 19th overall spinner to take 100 T20I wickets and the 12th among full-member nations.
Axar Patel creates history
India were under the pump. After Arshdeep Singh struck twice in the opening over to dismiss Phil Salt and Jos Buttler, Harry Brook took charge of the proceedings. He was on 13-ball 38 at one point of time after making Arshdeep and Harshit Rana vanish out of the bowling attack. Shreyas Iyer then had no option but to bring in Axar inside the powerplay.
The left-arm spinner responded superbly, sending back Brook in a critical part of the game. ‘Bapu’ slid one down the leg, to which Brook tried to sweep but the faintest of edges did the trick. India used DRS to a great effect and found success. It was a superb over, and showed the mastery of Axar, who has been a consistent performer for the side ever since his debut in 2015.
Most T20I wickets for India
| Player | Inns | Wkts | BB | Avg | Econ | SR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arshdeep Singh | 86 | 133 | 5/51 | 19.49 | 8.54 | 13.6 |
| Jasprit Bumrah | 92 | 121 | 4/15 | 18.08 | 6.51 | 16.6 |
| Hardik Pandya | 125 | 114 | 4/16 | 27.13 | 8.34 | 19.5 |
| Axar Patel | 91 | 100 | 3/9 | 21.44 | 7.39 | 17.3 |
| Yuzvendra Chahal | 79 | 96 | 6/25 | 25.09 | 8.19 | 18.3 |
| Kuldeep Yadav | 52 | 95 | 5/17 | 13.74 | 6.95 | 11.8 |
| Bhuvneshwar Kumar | 86 | 90 | 5/4 | 23.10 | 6.96 | 19.9 |
| Varun Chakaravarthy | 43 | 73 | 5/17 | 16.61 | 7.55 | 13.1 |
The other spinners who are behind him on the list include an out-of-favour Yuzvendra Chahal (96), Kuldeep Yadav (95) and Varun Chakravarthy (73). Axar has also become the fourth Indian bowler to take 100 wickets in the shortest format of the game, joining Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya on the elite list.
Axar Patel made his T20I debut in 2015 against Zimbabwe. He played very limited number of games until 2021 following which he became a regular in India’s T20I setup. The southpaw has been a part of three T20 World Cup campaigns, and is a two-time WC winner (2024 and 2026). Patel has gone on to become India’s go-to spin all-rounder at both home and overseas conditions. Apart from delivering the ball, Axar is also tasked with the responsibility of contributing with the bat down the order.
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