T20 World Cup 2024: The wicket was slow, so I tried to bowl slower – Axar Patel after match-winning spell against England

India’s all-rounder Axar Patel has revealed his bowling plan was to bowl slower as the pitch was slow against England in the second semifinal at the Providence Stadium, Guyana on Thursday. India registered a convincing win of 68 runs to make it to their third T20 World Cup final as Patel returned with impressive figures of 3-23 in his quota of four overs.

India posted a par score of 171 runs on the board after they were put into bat by England captain Jos Buttler. Patel was introduced in the Powerplay overs and he was able to make an impact straight away as he got the big wicket of Jos Buttler, who had raced to a 15-ball 23.

Patel once again struck on the first ball of his second over as he found the gulf between Jonny Bairstow’s bat and pad. The left-arm orthodox spinner also had Moeen Ali stumped after the southpaw batter lost track of the ball and left his crease.

Patel was awarded Player of the Match for his impressive performance and he said he tried to bowl in the right areas to reap his rewards.

Patel said after the win while talking to the host broadcasters, “ I have bowled in the powerplay in the past, so I had to bowl in the powerplay, that was the plan. The wicket was stopping and keeping low, so tried to bowl in the right areas. The wicket was slow, so I tried to bowl slower in this match, it worked for me.”

He added, “Wouldn’t have worked had I bowled quicker, would have been easier for their batters. Our batters told us that the wicket wasn’t easy, so 160 was a good total according to us. That partnership (between Rohit and SKY) was magnificent, they scored the occasional boundaries and rotated the strike. Not thinking about Barbados at the moment, will celebrate this player of the match award first.”

India will take on South Africa in the all-important final at the Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados on Saturday.