84 and 74: How Axar Patel Held India Together Against Australia

Axar Patel went into the 2023 Border–Gavaskar Trophy as India's third spinner, behind R. Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja. By the end of it he was India's most consistent batter. He scored 264 runs at an average of 88 — India's second-highest in the series — and he was never dismissed for fewer than fifty.

Nagpur: 84 from number nine

In the first Test in Nagpur he walked in at number nine. India already had a platform; what they needed was someone to turn a good total into a match-winning one. Axar made 84, batting with the lower order, and India reached 400. Australia were then bowled out twice. India won by an innings and 132 runs.

Delhi: 74 after 139 for 7

The second Test in Delhi was the collapse. India were 139 for 7 in the first innings, still well behind Australia's total, when Axar came in at number eight. He made 74, adding crucial runs with the tail, and India reached 262. That closed the gap. India went on to win by six wickets and take a 2–0 lead.

Afterwards he told reporters he had simply batted the way he wanted to. The method was unfussy: stand on leg stump to stay safe against lbw and stumping, and avoid stepping out at off-spinners on turning pitches.

Indore and Ahmedabad

Indore was a vicious turner. Axar was sent in at number nine again and was the only India batter to finish not out in both innings, making 12 and 15. He faced more balls than almost anyone else in a match where most dismissals came cheaply.

In Ahmedabad he was trusted higher, at number seven, and made 79. He put on more than 160 with Virat Kohli, hitting five fours and four sixes, and helped India to a first-innings lead on a slow Motera pitch. India drew the Test and won the series 2–1.

Why those fifties matter

The 84 and the 74 were not pretty centuries. They were lower-order innings played after the recognised batters had gone, on pitches that were already turning. They are the clearest evidence that Axar is a genuine Test all-rounder, not a spinner who can block a few overs.