Gautam Gambhir thinks there is good competition between Axar Patel and Ravindra Jadeja, spurring each other on as spin-bowling all-rounders.
On Sunday (February 19), India won over Australia in the second Test of the Border-Gavaskar-Trophy in Delhi, leading the four-match series with a 2-0 score. The Indian spinners bowled the Australians out for 113 during their second innings on Day 3 and reached the 115-run fourth-innings goal in only 26.4 overs, winning by six wickets.
Gambhir pointed out on Star Sports that Axar Patel and Ravindra Jadeja do not see each other as competitors, explaining:
“There is a healthy rivalry between the two of them (Axar and Jadeja), they push each other. They are not competitors. Both are similar type of players, but one performed in bowling and the other performed in batting.”
Noting that Axar has not had a lot of opportunity to bowl in the current series, the former Indian batsman commended the Gujarat all-rounder’s decisive efforts with the bat, considering the fact that three all-rounders are playing, one of the bowlers is usually underused. Axar Patel has been in that situation in this series, yet he still managed to make an impact with his batting. He commented that Axar looked the most comfortable among the Indian batsmen.
Axar Patel (74) was the highest run-scorer for India in the first innings. He and Ravichandran Ashwin put together a 114-run stand for the eighth wicket, which enabled the team, which was in a difficult position at 139/7, to reach a total of 262 runs under the captaincy of Rohit Sharma.