Yashasvi Jaiswal’s brilliant unbeaten 76 in the first Test against England impressed India’s left-arm spinner Axar Patel, who believed that Jaiswal’s aggressive approach completely unsettled the English spinners. India finished the opening day at 119 for 1 in response to England’s first innings total of 246 all out, largely thanks to Jaiswal’s quickfire innings. Axar expressed his admiration for Jaiswal’s batting in the post-day press conference, stating, “We enjoyed the way Yashasvi was batting and he took on the spinners from the very first over. It was very good to unsettle them early.” Jaiswal’s assault on debutant England left-arm spinner Tom Hartley, hitting him for two sixes in the second over of India’s innings, set the tone for the match.
However, Axar himself played a significant role in India’s charge on the first day, taking the important wickets of Jonny Bairstow and Ben Foakes. The 30-year-old spinner acknowledged the guidance he received from senior teammates Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, stating, “I have learned a lot from seniors Ash and Jaddu bhai. I was trying to control the game from my end as they were bowling in partnership. They were taking wickets, so, I was not thinking about taking wickets.” Axar also expressed his gratitude for the opportunity to bowl alongside Ashwin and Jadeja, considering it a privilege.
Axar took pride in his dismissal of Bairstow, who was bowled by a well-executed delivery that angled in from wide of the crease and hit the stumps. Reflecting on the moment, Axar shared, “That delivery really came off well. We were talking if it turns from there then it would be great because the odd ball was turning. Bairstow took stance on the fourth wicket to avoid the lbw. So, I thought of bowling at the stumps because he did cut a few shots close to the stumps. That was the plan and the one that turned from there was good and you would have seen my celebration.”
In their attempt to counter the Indian spinners, the English batsmen heavily relied on reverse sweeps, which played into Axar’s hands. He explained, “I was talking with the captain that they were playing sweeps and reverse sweeps and we were looking where the reverse sweeps were going. So, we placed the point (fielder) a bit behind. We had talked about this in the team meeting and we had a plan for this. It’s good that they wanted to attack and it had a chance of getting them out.”
Axar also commented on the pitch at RGI Stadium, stating that it did not offer excessive turn but commending the Indian bowlers for their efforts in bowling out England for 246. He expressed hope that the Indian batsmen would capitalize on the slow pitch on the second day and extend the team’s advantage. Axar concluded, “There is spin but the wicket is slow and we know that we did well to restrict them to 246. We can adjust to it as the ball is getting slow after pitching. Yeah, it is a bit challenging as well for the batters but if you bat well then you can make runs here.”
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