The 68-year important partnership between Hooda and Axar was a turning point for India. A great partnership saw the duo surpass the performances of MS Dhoni and Yusuf Pathan (against England in June 2009) on his team his list of India’s top six wickets in T20Is.
India last-balled in his T20I, the first of his three-game series at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium on Tuesday, when he edged out Sri Lanka by two runs with a last-ball Thriller. Sri Lanka won the toss and elected to throw the ball first, handing the hosts 162/5 in his 20 overs. Men in Blue struggled at 94/5, with all-rounders Deepak Hooda and Axor Patel stitching a 68-run partnership for the sixth wicket to secure a struggling total. In response, the visitors hit really well to get closer to the goal. Captain Dasun Shanaka shot an impressive 45 off his 27 balls, but he was thrown out for 160 in 20 overs. The 68-year important partnership between Hooda and Axar was a turning point for India. A good partnership saw the duo surpass the performances of MS Dhoni and Yusuf Pathan (against England in June 2009) in his T20Is team his list of India’s top six wickets. Huda Axar is now his second on the list against England at Narendra Modi in March 2021, behind the 70-run record scored by Virat Kohli and Hardik Pandia.
Player of the Match Huda is undefeated 41 of his 23 pitches, of which he is undefeated 4, Axor is unbeaten 31 of his 20 pitches, 6 and he has thrown 34. Alongside the two, Ishan Kishan and his captain Hardik Pandya had a handy shot for team his India. Ishan hit 29 to 37 and Pandya 27 to 29. Among Indian bowlers, debutant fast bowler Shivam Mavi took four wickets in a fairytale start to his career at Men in Blue. Umran Malik and Harshal Patel scalped two wickets each in the match.
In the final over of the match Sri Lanka needed 13 runs to win with two wickets remaining. India’s Axar let his nerves go as he allowed just 10 runs to give his hosts a thrilling win.
His second T20I match between India and Sri Lanka will take place on Thursday 5 January.