Axar Patel hails Virat Kohli as a player for ‘big occasions’

Axar Patel hailed Virat Kohli as a player for “big occasions” after the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) batting superstar smashed a 62-ball ton in a winning cause against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) earlier this week.

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Kohli led from the front with a 63-ball 100 after RCB were set a challenging 187 to win by the ‘Orange Army’ in the final match of the season at Hyderabad’s Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium. The former Bangalore captain stitched a mammoth 172-run opening stand with current skipper Faf du Plessis, which laid the foundation for a comfortable eight-wicket victory for the three-time IPL runners-up.

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“What makes Virat Kohli different from others is that he is a player on big occasions. He has shown over the years what he can do in crunch situations for his team. Everyone knows how big a player he is. He is a legend and he showed that once again against SRH. The way he is playing in this IPL is pretty good. He is scoring runs consistently and it’s inspiring for the youngsters as well,” said Delhi Capitals (DC) spinner Axar Patel in an exclusive interaction with News18 CricketNext.

Axar is currently featuring in the afternoon clash between DC and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Saturday. Given Delhi were the first team to bow out of the playoffs race, this will be their final game of the 16th season and they will hope to sign off on a high with a second consecutive victory.

The spin-bowling all-rounder, meanwhile, will be shifting his attention to the big red-ball assignment that lies ahead of him in the form of the World Test Championship (WTC) final against Australia, which takes place at The Oval, London starting 7 June.

When asked about his preparations for India’s second consecutive appearance in the WTC final and adjusting to the rigours of red-ball cricket after two months of high-voltage T20 action, Axar felt there was enough time for players to make changes to their approach.

“If you stress on this shift (from white ball to red), it gives you unnecessary pressure. The focus should be on the game and backing your strengths. The only difference is that you can’t really go after every delivery. You need to make small adjustments in your technique like having an idea of the off stump which can of course take a couple of days or so.

“But overall we will get enough time to make the shift. Rest the preparations are going good. Rahul (Dravid) bhai is coordinating, and BCCI is also coordinating about how to take things forward,” Axar added.

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