Border-Gavaskar Trophy: Big guns fail but all-rounders Axar Patel and Ravindra Jadeja lift India's batting
India TodayBack-to-back Test victories against World No.1 Australia, the Border-Gavaskar Trophy retained for the third successive time and the World Test Championship Final just one step away-- it finally looks like everything is going right for the Indian Test team. While, Suryakumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer and KS Bharat failed to capitalize on the opportunity in the first two games, Shreyas Iyer did not look his best self in Delhi, India's spin bowling all-rounders-- Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel-- stepped up to save the hosts from blushes. "They are not lower order - Axar, Ash could easily bat in the top 6 anywhere in the world, they are not lower order, India have a long top order" Nathan Lyon's remarks can be backed by the fact that India's spin all-rounders have not just won matches with the ball in hand but also bailed their side out with the willow in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy. While Ravindra Jadeja played the perfect second fiddle to captain Rohit Sharma with an outstanding 70 in the Nagpur Test win, Axar Patel stepped up with the bat in the Delhi Test when the top-order crumbled like a pack of cards in front of Lyon. Axar's shot-making was brilliant in the 114-run ninth-wicket stand with his spin senior Ashwin, which helped India reach 262, one run short of Australia's first-innings total.