Axar Patel, an all-rounder for India, has been praised by legendary cricketer Sunil Gavaskar for his good nature in allowing Virat Kohli to get his century against Pakistan in Dubai. Later in India's innings, Axar Patel entered the batting lineup. Axar made cautious not to go for huge shots because Virat Kohli was almost at his hundred and India didn't need many runs to win. This let Kohli to take the majority of the strike and get his century.
India won the game by a substantial margin of victory—7.3 overs to spare. Axar Patel struck the game-winning runs and reached his century off the last delivery, leaving him and Virat Kohli undefeated at the crease. According to Sunil Gavaskar, Axar Patel just took the singles and gave up his own runs to allow Virat Kohli to finish his century, demonstrating his respect for the captain.
The same incident came during the ICC T20 World Cup against South Africa. MS Dhoni who was on strike had a chance to fisish the game but he gave strike to Virat Kohli to finish the game.
After smiling at him earlier, expecting his India captain to make another clutch run, Virat Kohli was taken aback by Dhoni's gesture. He was first annoyed by Dhoni's defensive push, but he eventually came to appreciate the spirit behind the dot ball.
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India lost Hardik Pandya off the final delivery of Shaheen Afridi's over, and Axar Patel came to bat. But instead of trying to take any chances, he concentrated on providing Virat Kohli the strike. At one point, an easy two was available, but Axar chose not to go for the single, allowing Kohli to go for a strike. Even if Kohli wasn't happy, Axar made sure his partner got to a well-earned hundred.
Sunil Gavaskar prasied Axar Patel for his sacrifice
Kohli reached his 51st ODI century in the next over as he hit Khushdil Shah with a four through the covers. With 100 off 111 balls, the 36-year-old stayed undefeated, and it was a brilliant knock. Sunil Gavaskar discussed Axar Patel's little innings, which was crucial for Virat Kohli, in an interview with Sports Today. He described India's victory as "huge" and asserted that Axar handed Kohli the strike to get his hundred.
"Axar Patel when he came in realised that if he hits a boundary, he would have never been forgiven. Centuries don't come everyday. As a team man, knowing that the situation you are in, you want to make sure that your teammate who has worked hard gets to a hundred," Gavaskar said.
As India wants to end the group stage atop the table, they've got a week to rest and practice ahead of the next match against New Zealand. The last time India won the ICC Champions Trophy was in 2013 when they defeated England. Despite coming close in 2017, they lost to current host Pakistan.
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