Axar Patel
Gujarat's Axar Patel struck for the second time just before Tea to put hosts India in a commanding position in the third Test against England at the newly renamed Narendra Modi Stadium. On a wicket that was offering turn right from Day 1, Axar trapped a well-set Zak Crawley as England slumped to 81/4 at Motera.
Crawley, the England opener, wasn't sure whether to come forward or to stay back as he got beaten multiple times against Axar's turn. Coming round the wicket, Axar bowled a slider that trapped Crawley in front and umpire Nitin Menon raised his finger. Crawley departed after scoring a brilliant 53.
Earlier, Axar also trapped Jonny Bairstow (0) on his very first delivery. Bairstow, playing his first Test of the series, failed to read Axar's length as the ball went straight onto his pads.
Bairstow decided to review it but the ball-tracker showed three reds, signalling the batsman to walk back to the pavilion. At tea, Ben Stokes and Ollie Pope were batting on 6 and 1 respectively. Axar struck again after tea as he dismissed Stokes on 6, leaving England struggling on 81/6.
Axar eventually finished with figures of 6/38 while R Ashwin registered 3/26 as England bundled out on 112 in their first innings. Ishant also chipped in with one wicket. The series is currently tied 1-1 after England triumphed in the opener and India claimed the honours in the second game.
To put England in trouble, Joe Root (17) was trapped in front of the wicket by Ravichandran Ashwin while Dominic Sibley was dismissed for nought by Ishant Sharma, who's playing his 100th Test for India.
Ishant is the only Indian fast bowler after Kapil Dev to play 100 Test matches for the country. He's also the fourth Indian bowler to achieve this milestone. Anil Kumble (132), Kapil (131) and Harbhajan Singh (103) are the three bowlers who've featured in 100 Tests for India.
