Axar Patel becomes only the second Indian spinner after Ravindra Jadeja to…

Axar Patel produced a brilliant spell at the death to make an exclusive list in Indian ODI cricket during the opening match against England at Edgbaston on Tuesday. The left-arm spinner became only the second Indian spinner to take four wickets between the 41st and 50th overs of an ODI innings. The only other Indian spinner to achieve this feat was Ravindra Jadeja who did so against Sri Lanka in Port of Spain in 2013. Axar’s late burst helped India bowl out England for 258 after the hosts staged a remarkable recovery through Joe Root and Liam Dawson. England appeared to be heading for a modest total after collapsing from 61 for no loss to 107 for six. However, Root and Dawson combined in a 121-run stand for the seventh wicket to thwart the Indian attack and revive the innings. Root top-scored with a composed 76 off 76 deliveries, while Dawson scored a career-best 68 off 83 balls. The duo absorbed the pressure created by Jasprit Bumrah before targeting the other bowlers as the pitch became easier for batting. Just when England looked set to finish strong, Axar struck repeatedly in the closing stages. He dismissed the lower order and finished with a career-best ODI figure of 4 for 62, ensuring that England were restricted to 258 instead of pushing past the 275 mark. Earlier, India’s pace attack dominated the opening half of the innings. Bumrah, who returned after a six-week layoff to manage the workload, produced a fine spell despite ending up with just one wicket. The pace spearhead conceded just 31 runs in nine overs, including 36 dot balls, while constantly troubling England’s top order with movement and bounce. Young left-armer Gurnoor Brar impressed by removing Jacob Bethell and Ben Duckett in the same over after an expensive start, while Prasidh Krishna chipped in with the key wickets of Jose Buttler and Sam Curran as England slumped to 107 for six. Root and Dawson then rebuilt the innings before Axar’s late strikes ended the recovery. In doing so, the all-rounder not only recorded the best ODI bowling figures of his career but also matched a rare Indian bowling milestone that remained untouched for more than a decade.