Patel opens up on his batting masterclass, says seniors helped

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, February 18

Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja are not just spinners, they are accomplished all-rounders who have contributed crucial runs down the order. They are a luxury many teams do not possess. After mounting another fightback today, Patel top-scored with a hard-hitting 74 and along with Ashwin took India to within a single run of Australia’s total of 263. Speaking to reporters after the end of the day’s play, Patel disclosed how talking to senior players made him realise that making runs was also important, other than his primary role as a spinner. Excerpts:

When you walked in, the team was in a spot of bother. What was the plan?

There was a lot of pressure as we were behind. It was important to get as close to the Australian target (as possible). When Ashwin and I got set, we sensed that the wicket had eased up and scoring runs was getting easier and we felt we could forge a long partnership. Eventually we ended up just one run behind Australia. So it felt good.

You made runs in Nagpur as well. Did that help today?

I was coming into the Test series after scoring a few runs in white-ball cricket. I was in good touch in Nagpur as well so I think I was carrying that confidence in this match.

Does it help that as a bowler, you know the bowling plans of the opposition better and so it is easier to counter that?

When you are bowling, you can see how the batter is making things difficult. I use the same technique while batting. If the bowler is landing all the balls in the same area, and if the batter is defending confidently, it makes things harder. While batting, I try to defend confidently and force the bowler to change tactics. Having a bowler’s mindset helps in batting for sure.

You started to find form with the bat during IPL, where you were batting higher for Delhi Capitals. What made you realise that you can contribute more with the bat?

I spoke a lot with Ricky (Ponting) on how to improve my batting. Even in the Indian team, I had many conversations with the batters. I felt I was not realising my potential as I was scoring thirties and forties but was not able to finish the game. I think it had to do a lot with the mindset. Sometimes you relax as an all-rounder if you have taken wickets, you get casual. Therefore, I thought I could improve on that and convert my thirties and forties into match-winning scores. This change in mindset has made a big difference for me.

The Australians have been very aggressive in the last few overs. Any plans to counter that?

Yes, they were aggressive and we noticed that. We have had a few discussions on how to stop the run flow by setting different fields. Hopefully tomorrow we will execute it better.

Can you explain your plans after Ashwin’s dismissal as you were very aggressive and perhaps in trying to do that, missed a chance to score a hundred?

The ball was new so I thought I could take my chances with only (Mohammad) Shami and Siraj bhai left to bat. Last time I got out for 84 while batting so I wanted to take my chances to get to my hundred.