Shamik Chakrabarty in Dubai
Axar Patel was brought into the attack in the ninth over. That was the first sight of India’s spin pack in the Champions Trophy. It took two balls for the left-armer to dismiss Tanzid Hasan, who until then had looked good. The opener played for the turn when there was none. A thin edge went to KL Rahul behind the stumps.
Axar wasn’t sure, but the ’keeper was convinced, and umpire Paul Reiffel was so sanguine that he gave the batter a chance to walk before raising his finger. Tanzid thought about taking a review, but he had run out of time.
Mushfiqur Rahim came in at No. 6 and played the line. This time, the ball turned and took the outside edge to Rahul. The veteran departed for a golden duck and Axar was on a hat-trick.
Jaker Ali was next, with two slips and a leg slip breathing down his neck. Axar bowled a bit slower and once again got some turn. A thick edge went to Rohit Sharma at first slip but he dropped the sitter. The skipper was livid and slapped the turf several times before apologising to the bowler with folded hands. ‘Betraying’ Bapu (Axar’s nickname in the dressing room) was a sin and Rohit knew that, tongue firmly in cheek.
On a serious note, Rohit’s error denied Axar a Champions Trophy hat-trick. He would have been only the second bowler to achieve this feat in this event if the catch were taken. West Indies fast bowler Jerome Taylor did it in 2006. Only four Indian bowlers (Kuldeep Yadav twice) have picked up a hat-trick in ODIs. Axar could have been the fifth.
Also, the first day first show vindicated India’s decision to load their Champions Trophy squad with spinners. As RevSportz reported on February 18, the Dubai surface played a bit slow and the ball turned as well. Rohit was asked about his side having five spinners at the pre-match press conference on Wednesday. His response was emphatic.
“We have two spinners (Kuldeep and Varun Chakravarthy),” the India captain had said. The other three – (Ravindra) Jadeja, Axar and Washy (Washington Sundar) – are all-rounders. When teams have five seam-bowling all-rounders, people don’t ask questions. We have backed our strengths.”