Indian national cricket team star Axar Patel pulled off an absolutely stupendous catch in the third T20I of the four-match series against the South Africa national cricket team on Thursday, November 14.
Axar Patel took a shout near the boundary ropes to end explosive Proteas batsman David Miller’s innings at the SuperSport Park in Centurion.
Also Read: Watch: Hardik Pandya knocks down David Miller and leaves him in pain with a brutal hit in the box
Axar Patel stuns everyone with a blinder
Axar Patel was not at his best early in the innings as he dropped an absolute Dolly. However, the all-rounder made sure to redeem himself with a blinder during the second half of the innings.
On the fifth ball of the 16th over, all-rounder Hardik Pandya bowled a short delivery to David Miller, who absolutely nailed a flat delivery.
It looked like the ball was going to cross the boundary line, but out of nowhere Axar Patel timed a perfect jump and grabbed the ball with both hands while it was in the air to end the explosive batsman’s innings. David Miller had to walk back to the hut after scoring 18 runs off 18 balls.
Watch: Axar Patel takes a stunner to return David Miller
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The catch changed the game as despite Marco Jansen’s fireworks in the death overs, the Proteas could not cross the finish line and lost the match by 11 runs.
India took a 2-1 lead in the T20I series and the fourth and final T20I between the teams will take place on Friday, November 15 at The Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg.
South Africa had won the second T20I after a good fight
South Africa claimed victory in the second T20I against India by three wickets with one over to spare. Chasing a modest target of 125, they faced their own share of challenges as the Indian bowlers kept things tight, with Varun Chakravarthy leading from the front with his extraordinary 5-wicket haul for just 17 runs.
Ryan Rickelton’s opening knock of 13 off 11 took them off the mark but he was unable to continue, falling to Arshdeep Singh in the third over. Reeza Hendricks offered stability with his 24 off 21, including three boundaries and a six, but Chakravarthy also undid that.
Captain Aiden Markram (3 out of 8) and Marco Jansen (7 out of 10) failed to find their footing against the spinner, while Heinrich Klaasen (2 out of 3) and David Miller (0 out of 1) also fell prey to Varun, leaving South Africa fights at 66/6.
However, the most crucial innings of the match came from the bat of Tristan Stubbs, who scored 47 not out off 41 balls, with seven fours. His steady hand allowed the Proteas to inch closer to the target and Gerald Coetzee supported him with a quick cameo of 19 off 9 balls. Together, they managed to complete the chase, reaching 128/7 in 19 overs and securing a hard-fought victory.