Akshar Patel won the 'best fielder' medal for his amazing one-handed catch against Australia in the recent T20 World Cup 2024 match in Antigua. India defeated Australia by 24 runs and qualified for the semi-finals of the tournament.
Rohit Sharma made an exciting 92 in 41 balls with 7 fours and 8 sixes and got help from Suryakumar Yadav (31), Shivam Dube (28) and Hardik Pandya (27*) as India made 205/5 in 20 overs.
Australia was restricted to 181/7 in 20 overs despite Travis Head’s 76 runs, thanks to Arshdeep Singh’s three wickets and Kuldeep Yadav’s two wickets.
During the Australian innings, Head and Mitchell Marsh were threatening to take the game away from India. Kuldeep Yadav dropped one ball short and Marsh tried to pull the ball over the boundary. But Akshar Patel jumped high in the air and plucked the ball in one hand to leave his teammates and fans surprised.
Reflecting on Axar's achievement, India's fielding coach T Dilip commended the team's overall fielding effort.
"Phenomenal effort, boys. When it comes to fielding in the Caribbean, we always test our mettle... from boundary to infield, we covered every gap, but the masterpiece was the commitment for every catch that we have done," Dilip said in a video shared by BCCI.
"With this kind of determination, whether adjusting to the wind or speed in the outfield, we were top-notch. Lastly, we clearly showed that we are here to dominate," he added.
Akshar Patel was given the best fielder medal by Indian team’s Sri Lankan throwdown specialist Nuwan Senevirathne.
Here is the video:
