Veteran spinner Harbhajan Singh believes that Axar Patel made forced the England batsmen to play the ball every time he bowled which is what made him lethal during the second and third of the ongoing four-match series.
Harbhajan, 40, said that the spinners in India are always taught to aim for the stumps and make adjustments to do so depending upon the amount of spin that the pitch is aiding.
“At the beginning of our journey, the spinners are taught to hit the stumps — the ball should hit the stumps after the spin. If the wicket has spin then the bowler needs to judge how much spin is required, and if you’re missing the stumps constantly then the it’s the bowler’s fault. If there is a spinning track or any other track, there is always a challenge to bowl,” Harbhajan said on Star Sports.
“The most difficult balls were the ones where the batsman has to face with the bat and I believe Axar Patel was the best bowler in this game, because the batsman had to play his every ball and Axar Patel himself didn’t know whether the ball will spin or not,” he further said.
Patel, who has been the star Indian bowler in the last two Test against England, has said that he concentrated on improving his game to have a positive mentality in the past three years.
Patel made his way into the Indian Test team during the four-match series against England and has been the best bowler in the second and third Test, both of which India won comfortably. In four innings, he has picked up two five-wicket hauls and one six-fer.
Patel had already played two ODIs and 11 T20Is for India. However, he had been out of the senior national setup since a T20I against South Africa in Cape Town on February 24, 2018.