29 July,2024 09:06 AM IST | Pallekele | R Kaushik
Axar Patel
Nine for 30 in 32 deliveries is the textbook definition of a collapse of epic proportions. That's precisely what played out at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium on Saturday, a full house scarcely able to believe its eyes as Sri Lanka tumbled to a 43-run humbling in the first T20I. Well on course to overhauling India's 213 for seven at 140 for one after 14 overs, Sri Lanka never recovered from losing the set duo of Pathum Nissanka and Kusal Perera in the 15th over, tumbling to 170 all out.
The man who sparked the meltdown was Axar Patel, the left-arm spinning all-rounder who has become crucial to India's fortunes. Axar finished with two for 38, though the Player of the Match award rightly went to skipper Suryakumar Yadav for his exceptional 58. "We knew that the game was on as it was not easy to hit the old ball," Axar said later. "That was our idea. We always knew we were one wicket away from a collapse."
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Axar has delivered in pressure situations earlier, and he admitted he fell back on the confidence of having done well in the past. "There was also confidence from having won the [T20] World Cup one month back," he went on. "You may not always come up with the goods under pressure, but the learnings from those experiences will come in handy. I have been doing well for the last one year or so, and that adds to the confidence as well."
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Nissanka, with a T20I best 79, and Kusal Mendis had added 84 for the first wicket, and Nissanka put on 56 for the second with Perera, but after that, it was India all the way. Part-time off-spinner Riyan Parag applied the finished touches with three for five, rounding off a great first full-time night in office for Suryakumar. "We practiced here for two-three days and we knew how the wicket would play," the new captain pointed out. "We never thought the game would go away from us, given we won the World Cup. Fortunately, there was no dew."
