Akshar Patel expressed his joy in contributing to Team India’s success after his remarkable performance helped the hosts win the second T20I by six wickets against Afghanistan.
On a challenging pitch in Indore, the left-arm spinner delivered a superb spell of 2/17 in 4 overs, playing a crucial role in India's victory as they successfully chased down 173 runs in just 15.4 overs to take a 2-0 lead in the ongoing three-match T20I series against Afghanistan.
However, despite standout batting performances from Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shivam Dube, Akshar was awarded the Player of the Match award for taking the crucial wickets of Afghanistan captain Ibrahim Zadran and half-centurion Gulbadin Naib in Indore.
With his impressive figures, the star all-rounder became only the second Indian cricketer, after Ravindra Jadeja, to take 200 wickets and score over 2000 runs in T20 cricket. Reacting to the milestone, Patel said that he only focuses on his performance, not the numbers.
Akshar Patel was quoted as saying by JioCinema: “Feels good, I just realised that I have got 200 T20 wickets. But what is important is to keep doing well for India, honestly, a few years later I won't remember how many wickets I took.”
Speaking about his performance and game plan, Patel said: “I have been trying to bowl a bit slower, vary my lengths and now I have been to gauge these things better. Now I have the confidence to bowl at all times, even in the powerplay. You need to be mentally prepared as a bowler in T20 cricket.”
He signed off by saying, “Ready to concede a six because that same ball could get you a wicket on another day. Earlier, I used to vary my plans if a batter was hitting me, but now I stick to my plans and make the batters take the chance against me.”
The third T20I will be played in Bengaluru on January 17.
