“I was nervous,” says Axar Patel as he begins his T20 World Cup innings at number four against Pakistan.

Axar Patel moved up to number four against Pakistan in the recently concluded T20 World Cup after India had been down to 19/2 at one point. At Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York, the Men in Blue were under tremendous strain after losing the wickets of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma while batting first.

It’s interesting that Axar Patel was dispatched before Shivam Dube and Suryakumar Yadav, but the all-round player performed admirably and saved India from disaster.

In a recent interview, the 30-year-old admitted that he was anxious to bat fourth against Pakistan. He disclosed that he had spoken early on with the team management that he would be promoted in the order in the event of early wickets, but he hadn’t anticipated that to occur in a pivotal match against Pakistan. The cricketer, who was born in Gujarat, went on to say that he didn’t practise using the new ball in the nets, which only increased his anxiety, but he remained upbeat despite having batted for the Delhi Capitals during the Indian Premier League’s powerplay.

In opposition to Pakistan, I received the order. I was informed prior to the game that if there are early wickets, I could have to bat first. At the moment, I felt anxious. I didn’t practise using the new ball in the nets, so all of a sudden I had to use PowerPlay. My IPL experience was useful, and it gave me a good feeling. I batted a few times in the PowerPlay overs for the Delhi Capitals and also played a few key knocks,” Axar was cited by India Today.

That made it easier for me to know what to do in certain circumstances. I had to keep my mind off who was going to bowl to me and focus on the good. I didn’t mean to overthink things. And I was aware that I needed to play the right game for the circumstances. All I wanted was to live in the here and now. That helped me defeat Pakistan,” he continued.

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Axar was one of India’s most important players during the T20 World Cup and had an incredible experience. He scored 20 runs off of 18 balls against Pakistan and got Usman Khan out of the game. India won the championship in Barbados against South Africa after defeating their bitter rivals by a margin of six runs.