India vs England 2021: Axar Patel creates unique record with spectacular showing in his first three tests
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Axar Patel has had a phenomenal start to his Test career as he has taken to it like a duck to water. Initially marked to make his debut in the first test against England that India lost, the southpaw suffered a late knee injury that ruled him out of the match. He was replaced by Shahbaz Nadeem who couldn’t deliver as he struggled with his lines and lengths on a pitch that didn’t offer him much assistance.
A fit-again Axar was drafted into the team for the second match and he delivered by picking up 7 wickets including a five-wicket-haul. It was then in the third test that he truly burst into life by picking up consecutive fifers to end with 11. In the fourth and final match as well, Axar picked up 9 including another five-wicket-haul. It is now fair to say that he has had a start to his career that many can only dream about.
Axar Patel is second only to Narendra Hirwani among Indians
Axar Patel’s start is truly a remarkable one but there have been two other bowlers in Test history who have had better starts to their career. One of them is Narendra Hirwani who picked up a whopping and utterly unbelievable tally of 31 wickets from his first three tests. Charlie Turner of Australia is second in the list with 29 wickets in his first three matches. The third is Axar Patel. Others in the list are Rodney Hogg with 27, Ajantha Mendis with 26 and Ranji Hordern with 26.
It now remains to be seen how India deal with the headache of selection once Ravindra Jadeja gets back to full fitness. With Washington Sundar delivering with the bat as well, India will have to take a difficult decision of dropping either Axar or Sundar. Further, in away tests, both might not feature.
Most wickets after three tests
| Bowler | Country | Wickets |
| Narendra Hirwani | India | 31 |
| Charlie Turner | Australia | 29 |
| Axar Patel | India | 27 |
| Rodney Hogg | Australia | 27 |
| Ajantha Mendis | Sri Lanka | 26 |
| Ranji Hordern | Australia | 26 |
Also Read: India vs England 2021: Ravichandran Ashwin breaks plenty of records with his 32 scalps in the series
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Nevin Clinton
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