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Axar Patel brought India D back into the game with a counter-attacking 86 following a disastrous start before picking up two timely wickets against India C for a standout effort on Day 1 of the Duleep Trophy contest in Anantapur on Thursday.
India C pacers Anshul Kamboj (2/47) and Vijaykumar Vyshak (3/19) made use of a helping pitch to run through the India D batting, leaving them in a desperate state at 48 for six.
Batting at number seven, Axar began cautiously before going ballistic to make 86 off 118 balls, singlehandedly taking India D to 164 all out in 48.3 overs.
In response, India C were 91 for four at stumps on day one, trailing India D by 73 runs. Following pacer Harshit Rana's twin strike in the first 10 overs, Axar got rid of Aryan Juyal (12) and Rajat Patidar (13) to make a big impact on the game.
Wicketkeeper batter Abhishek Porel (32 batting) was impressive for India C and was battling alongside Baba Indrajith (14 batting) at close of play.
Axar dominated the India C bowlers earlier in the day after the majority of the batters fell to reckless strokeplay.
The southpaw, who has impressed with the bat both in red and white ball games for India in the recent past, hammered as many half a dozen sixes. He especially enjoyed batting against fellow left-arm spinner Manav Suthar, clobbering him for three maximums.
Axar used the slog sweep to release the pressure early on in his innings before dispatching Suthar for back to back sixes in the 39th over.
Some of the shot selection from other batters left a lot to be desired. While skipper Shreyas Iyer (9) fell to a beauty from Vyshak, opener Atharva Taide (4) and Devdutt Padikkal (0) tried to force the pace way too early in their innings.
Taide went for a pull on the fifth ball of the day and was caught at fine leg while Padikkal was caught at cover by opposition skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad, falling to a regulation ball from Vyshak.
Brief scores:
India D: 164 all out in 48.3 overs (Axar Patel 86; Vijaykumar Vyshak 3/19).
India C: 91 for four in 33 overs (Abhishek Porel 32 batting; Axar Patel 2/16).