Axar Patel on India reaching T20 final with 68-run England win
28/06/2024
icc24
Guyana National Stadium, Providence
28/06/2024
icc24
Guyana National Stadium, Providence
Category
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SportsTranscript
00:00Shut the door.
00:03Are we ready?
00:16Live.
00:30We are now ready with India's post-match press conference.
00:33Akshay Patel to address it for India.
00:35First question.
00:37Akshay bhai, congratulations on the win.
00:39Thank you.
00:40What was the target of 170 on this pitch?
00:44There is obviously pressure in powerplay.
00:46What was your game plan?
00:52I think we could have easily defended 170.
00:56It was a very power score.
00:57The way the wicket was behaving.
00:59When we spoke to Rohit bhai after the batting,
01:01he said that it is very difficult to hit a big shot.
01:04Because the odd ball is spinning and it is skating on.
01:08So we thought that 150-160 is a very good score.
01:12We can defend it.
01:14When we made 170, we knew that we made 10-15 runs more.
01:20The plan was the same.
01:22Obviously, it is difficult in powerplay.
01:26But when you know that you are getting help from the wicket,
01:29you don't have to think too much.
01:32You don't have to over-exaggerate.
01:34I thought that the more I keep it simple,
01:36the easier it will be for me.
01:38Because in the dressing room,
01:40it was said that it is not an easy wicket.
01:42After that, when the batsman came,
01:44I knew that he will charge something else.
01:47It is not so easy for me to hit in front.
01:49And I couldn't hit from the back foot
01:51because the ball wasn't coming that much.
01:53So my plan was to make it difficult for them as much as possible.
01:57I forced them to think that they should play a new shot.
02:01So that happened on the first ball.
02:04So that was our plan.
02:11When you went to bat,
02:13you must have felt how the pitch was being played.
02:16And does the English team,
02:18the English team,
02:20and most of the Indian spinners,
02:22get worried about their batsmen?
02:24Yes.
02:25I can't say that they get more worried.
02:28Obviously, both have the same pitch.
02:34I don't think they get worried.
02:37Obviously, it is a matter of pressure at that time.
02:39And when you have scored a goal,
02:41and when you are chasing,
02:43you know that the wicket is helping the bowler in that pressure.
02:47As a bowler, as an opener,
02:49when you play in the top four,
02:51you think that you will take advantage of the power play as much as possible.
02:55So I think that's what they think,
02:57that they went to take advantage of the power play.
02:59But they didn't succeed, obviously.
03:01But I don't think they feel more pressure than the Indians.
03:07And when I went to bat,
03:09obviously I knew that when the fast bowlers were bowling,
03:12everyone was bowling slower than me.
03:14Even though they were bowling slower,
03:16I wasn't able to hit the ball.
03:18And the ball wasn't coming at the speed I wanted,
03:21so I wasn't able to connect properly.
03:24Obviously, that also gave me a clue
03:26as to what I could do and what I couldn't do.
03:28The more you bowl, the easier it gets.
03:30The length balls they bowled,
03:32it was all getting easier.
03:34So it was very easy to bowl at a good area.
03:36After bowling at a good area,
03:38I feel that no one has hit me on the length ball,
03:42no matter how good the ball is.
03:44So it was very important to bowl at a good length and line.
03:46So that's what I felt.
03:48And when it came to power play, that's what I did.
03:52Akshar, you got your first ball of every over.
03:58Tell us about that.
04:00And is there a better option in the pitch,
04:02sweep and reverse sweep?
04:04Is it difficult to hit a big shot?
04:06I didn't plan to get a wicket on the first ball.
04:10My mindset was to bowl at a good area.
04:14Obviously, when you play knockouts,
04:16your mindset is that
04:18you should bowl a good finish
04:20on the first and last ball of the over.
04:22So that was in my mind.
04:24Obviously, every time I got a good wicket,
04:26that was a plus point.
04:28I feel that it was difficult to hit a big shot
04:30and it was difficult to hit a sweep and reverse sweep
04:32because I didn't know how to hit a sweep and reverse sweep.
04:34I didn't know how to hit a sweep and reverse sweep.
04:36I didn't know how to hit a sweep and reverse sweep
04:38and it was difficult to hit a sweep and reverse sweep
04:40because there was a ball at the bottom of the wicket
04:42and it was difficult to connect it easily.
04:44Every ball was a sweep and reverse sweep.
04:46Even the batsmen have a doubt
04:48that if I go to hit a sweep and the ball is at the bottom,
04:50can I hit it on the pad?
04:52It depends on what line length you put.
04:54Mostly, our spinners kept it stump to stump.
04:56That's why it was very difficult to hit a sweep and reverse sweep
04:58on this wicket.
05:00And to hit it in front,
05:02you have to hit it in front as much as possible.
05:04But as much as we saw the videos,
05:06do not do so.
05:08do not do so.
05:10They have to start proceeding himself.
05:12They have to proceed himself.
05:14All the batsmen return it in the same way.
05:16All the batsmen return it in the same way.
05:18All the batsmen return it in the same way.
05:20All all the batsman returns it in the same way.
05:22A lot of swing.
05:24When they swing that way,
05:26They try even at places to hit it lightly.
05:28They try even at places to hit it lightly.
05:30Best of all,
05:32Naveen doesn't struggle.
05:34are trying to hunt-in?
05:36See, obviously, communication is very important in big matches.
05:41And I think all the matches we have played, we have thought that this is a big match for us.
05:47And we were playing with this kind of mindset.
05:49And we are trying to communicate as much as possible when someone scores the first or second over.
05:53So, communication becomes very easy.
05:56He knows what is happening in the wicket and what is not.
05:58So, obviously, I keep talking to Jaddu Bhai and Kuldeep that when I score the first over,
06:04what is happening in the wicket and what is not.
06:06I think the fast ball is stopping a little bit.
06:08So, when Jaddu Bhai scored the first over, after that, when there was a 10-over break,
06:15I told him that our line length here is stopping a little bit.
06:20So, it is easy for them to cut.
06:22So, you can go a little higher.
06:24And you can vary the pace as well.
06:27It is not that easy in this wicket.
06:29So, I think after that, they scored a good ball as well.
06:32So, yes, communication is very important.
06:35And we keep doing that in between the overs and whenever we get time.
06:54And now, a great spell. How does it feel on that, you know, contributing to this win?
07:24If the team doesn't do well, then it doesn't matter.
07:27So, I think, feeling good.
07:29We are close to the one step and close to the trophy.
07:33So, yes, feeling good.
07:40Thank you very much, Akshay, for joining us. Thank you.
07:54It's time. So, when we combine.