Saba Karim lauds Axar Patel after ENG vs IND 2026 1st ODI

Former Indian wicket-keeper Saba Karim lavished praise on Axar Patel after India registered a six-wicket win against England in the first ODI at Edgbaston, Birmingham on Tuesday. Patel delivered with both bat and ball as India bagged their first win on the UK tour.

After Harry Brook won the toss, England was skittled out for 258 after fifties from Joe Root and Liam Dawson. Patel played a key role in India’s bowling innings, returning with his career-best ODI figures of 4-62. The left-arm orthodox spinner accounted for Jofra Archer, Liam Dawson, Adil Rashid and Josh Tongue.

Furthermore, Patel scored a fine knock of 57 runs off 52 balls in the run chase of 259 with the help of five fours and one six. He added 105 runs off 102 balls with Washington Sundar to get India over the line after India lost the wickets of Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul in quick time. Ergo, he was awarded Player of the Match for his all-round performance.

Karim said Axar Patel wasn’t performing this well in the T20I series against England.

“Axar Patel rediscovered his form. Washington Sundar has proved himself in many ways. Whenever he has gotten chances, he has added value in his own way. However, this knock has come at the right time for Axar Patel. He wasn’t performing like this in T20s,” Saba Karim said on JioHotstar.

“It was expected that he would perform, and when the right time came today (Tuesday), when the pressure mounted on him, he scored runs. I also liked the way he showed aggression. He soaked in the pressure a little. He took his time for the first 10 balls, and then when he hit two big shots in a spinner’s over, his confidence increased after that,” Saba observed.

The former Indian selector highlighted that it happens a lot when all-rounder’s bowling performance helps his batting and reckons the same happened with Axar Patel.

“This happens many times for an all-rounder. If you bowl well, you benefit from that in batting as well. That was seen in Axar Patel’s batting today. We expect this maturity to be seen every time because he has that experience now. Until Axar Patel takes ownership like this, it will be very difficult to get such performances. So, finally, the maturity and experience worked for Axar Patel today,” he said.

The second ODI between India and England will be played at Sophia Gardens, Cardiff, on Thursday.