Though Suryakumar Yadav stole the show in the third and final T20I between India and Sri Lanka at Rajkot on Saturday, it was spin all-rounder Akshar Patel who was named the Player of the Series for his performance with both the bat and the ball in the three-match series.
He scored 117 runs and picked 3 wickets and his best knock came in Pune when the Men in Blue were chasing a stiff 208-run target. His gutsy 65 off just 31 balls, along with Surya’s 51, seemingly took India closer to the target but, unfortunately, that couldn’t happen. The hosts lost by 16 runs but Akshar got etched in everyone’s memory.
The all-rounder credited Hardik Pandya for his success in batting, saying that the skipper tells him to play freely and is there to protect as well.
“Feel happier when the team benefits from my batting (when compared to bowling). Didn’t do anything different for this series, just that the captain gave me a lot of confidence in the dugout. He tells me to play freely and tells me that he is there to protect me.
We do a lot of planning during team meetings but sometimes things do go wrong and I just focus on doing my plans properly,” said Akshar in the post-match presentation.
Skipper Hardik also praised Axar, saying that he is proud of the all-rounder and his performance will give a lot of confidence to the team.
“I’m really proud of him (Axar), the way he is batting down the order and hitting. This will give a lot of confidence to him and the team as well. My motto in life as captain has been that I’ll back my players,” said Pandya.
(Star Sports inputs)
