Man for all seasons

Kane Williamson stood between India and an all-win record in the Champions Trophy group stage, keeping New Zealand's chase of 250 flickering with a polished 81.

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Batting judiciously till that point, Williamson decided to charge Axar Patel and the slightly slanted delivery evaded his down-coming bat for KL Rahul to complete the stumping.

It was the last ball of Axar's spell that read 1/32. The spell stood out for its accuracy and the cunningness to maximise his ability in favourable conditions.

But the effort understandably went unnoticed in the din surrounding fellow spinner Varun Chakravarthy's five-wicket haul.

But it is nothing new for Axar, as he once was labelled as 'poor man's Jadeja' for the similarity in their skills — a left-arm spin bowler and a left-handed batter.

However, it was true that Axar was struggling to break free from the shadow of his illustrious senior teammate Ravindra Jadeja. The only way Axar could have cut open a path for himself was to improve his batting skills, and he started making a conscious effort in 2022.

An unbeaten 64 against the West Indies in Barbados gave him the necessary confidence in his own abilities. It was the breakaway point for him, and Axar admitted it. "After that match against the West Indies, I knew I could finish games. As soon as I gained that self-belief, I didn't think much about whether I wanted to show batting to anyone or not," he said.

Even then, promoting Axar to No. 5 ahead of KL Rahul, who averages over 50 in that slot with five hundreds, was a massive risk, but a decision the management was confident in.

Axar started batting at No. 5 regularly from the second ODI against Sri Lanka at Colombo last year, and made an immediate impression with a 44.

In the next six innings in which he came out at that position, Axar has made 52, 41 not out, 8, 3 not out, 42 and 27. They are certainly not eye-popping numbers but carried a deeper value in the context of those particular matches, besides giving India a left-handed option in the middle-order.

Once Rahul was anointed as India's No. 1 wicketkeeper-batter ahead of Rishabh Pant, they needed a left-hander in the top-five to counter spin in the middle-order.

His 42 against New Zealand on Sunday was a prime example as he warded off the twin threat from Mitchell Santner and Michael Bracewell.

His crucial 98-run partnership for the fourth wicket with Shreyas Iyer helped India reach a tricky 249.

Head coach Gautam Gambhir was delighted to see his gamble bringing in the desired results.

"We know the quality and ability Axar has, and we're going to keep giving him that opportunity at No. 5 so that he can keep performing, and more importantly, keep expressing and showing his talent to the world," said Gambhir.

"He has made a reasonable amount of contributions since he started batting at No. 5. That's where it is very important from a team point of view and it is not about individuals, it's about what we want as a team and we'll continue to do that," he noted.

Skipper Rohit Sharma said Axar was given the clarity about his role ahead of the ODI series against England at home.

"A clear message was given to him when we started the ODI series against England that no matter what the situation is he will bat at No. 5. The kind of improvement he's shown with the bat over the last year is superb to watch. That is where we felt that we can utilise him to bat in the middle-order," Rohit said.

Axar will soon have another chance to showcase his growing prowess as an all-rounder in the Champions Trophy final against the Kiwis on Sunday.