"Hope Agarkar was watching" - Fans react to Axar Patel's match-winning spell in IND vs AUS 4th T20I

Team India's Axar Patel was the pick of the bowlers in the fourth T20I of the ongoing five-match home series against Australia on Friday, December 1. Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium in Raipur played host to the match.

The Men in Blue needed to defend a 175-run target to take an unassailable 3-1 lead in the series. Axar delivered an awe-inspiring spell in the run chase, conceding just 16 runs from four overs while bagging four wickets.

Notably, Axar Patel's impactful bowling exploits came just a day after he was overlooked by the selectors for the upcoming three-match T20I series against South Africa.

The ace all-rounder earned widespread praise on social media for his inspired spell. One fan wrote on X (formerly Twitter):

"Hope, Agarkar was watching Axar?"

Here are some of the other top reactions:

Apart from Axar Patel, leg spinner Ravi Bishnoi also bowled a miserly spell, conceding just 17 runs from four overs and picking up a single wicket. Pacers Deepak Chahar and Avesh Khan claimed two and one wickets, respectively.

Australia finished at 154/7, suffering a 20-run defeat in the must-win clash. Suryakumar Yadav and Co. clinched the series 3-1 with one game remaining. Axar was named the Player of the Match.

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"I was trying a lot of things when I was at home" - Axar Patel on his stunning spell against Australia

Axar Patel was on the sidelines after sustaining a quadriceps strain during the 2023 Asia Cup. He was also ruled out of the recently concluded 2023 World Cup because of the injury.

At the post-match presentation on Friday, he spoke about how he worked on his bowling during the injury-enforced break, saying:

"I was trying a lot of things when I was at home and it came out well today. I tried to stick to my strengths and wasn't really bothered even I had gotten hit and bowling stump-to-stump was the key to negate the dew factor. To stay attacking and be mentally strong is important as there is every chance to get hit in this format."

"When you go with an attitude to pick wickets, will feel much better. During the (injury) break I focussed on improving myself and add new variations to my bowling to remain successful at the highest level." he added.

The fifth and final T20I of the series will be played at the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, in Bengaluru on Sunday, December 3.