'Wouldn't have worked had I...': India spinner Axar Patel after picking up three wickets

Axar Patel of India bowls during the ICC men`s Twenty20 World Cup 2024 semi-final cricket match between India and England at Providence Stadium in Georgetown, Guyana. Pic/AFP

After the 68-run win over England in the second Semi-final match of the ongoing T20 World Cup 2024, India spinner Axar Patel said he wouldn't have picked up three wickets if he had bowled quicker in Guyana.

Axar was named the 'Player of the Match' after his stupendous performance in the second innings. He bagged three wickets for 23 runs in his four-over spell at an economy rate of 5.80.

Speaking after the match, Axar said that the pitch at the Providence Stadium was slow which is why he was not bowling quicker on Thursday.

He also praised the partnership of Rohit Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav and called it magnificent.

"I have bowled in the powerplay in the past, so I had to bowl in the powerplay, that was the plan. The wicket was stopping and keeping low, so tried to bowl in the right areas. The wicket was slow, so I tried to bowl slower in this match, it worked for me. Wouldn't have worked had I bowled quicker, would have been easier for their batters. Our batters told us that the wicket wasn't easy, so 160 was a good total according to us. That partnership (between Rohit and SKY) was magnificent, they scored the occasional boundaries and rotated the strike. Not thinking about Barbados at the moment, will celebrate this player of the match award first," Axar said.

Recapping the match, Jos Buttler-led England won the toss and decided to bowl against Rohit Sharma's India.

Rohit Sharma (57 runs from 39 balls, 6 fours and 2 sixes) and Suryakumar Yadav (47 runs from 36 balls, 4 fours and 2 sixes) helped India power to 171/7. Hardik Pandya (23 runs from 13 balls, 1 four and 2 sixes) and Ravindra Jadeja (17' runs from 9 balls, 2 fours) also played a supporting role in the first inning.

Chris Jordan led the England bowling attack after he bagged three wickets and gave away 37 runs in his three-over spell.

During the run chase, England failed to understand the nature of the surface and eventually could only reach a total of 103 in 16.4 overs. Harry Brook (25 runs from 19 balls, 3 fours) and Jos Buttler (23 runs from 15 balls, 4 fours) were the only standout batters for the Three Lions.

Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav led the Indian bowling attack with both of them picking up three wickets in their respective spells and helping India clinch a 68-run win. Jasprit Bumrah bagged two wickets while defending the 172-run target.

The final of the T20 World Cup is now perfectly set as the clash between the unbeaten sides, India and South Africa, is set to take place in Barbados on Saturday.

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