Axar Patel feels 'privileged' after getting his maiden Test cap from skipper Virat Kohli

All-rounder Axar Patel who was handed his maiden Test cap on Saturday morning ahead of the ongoing second Test match against England at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai has said he will never forget the date.

In the ongoing contest, the hosts decided to make three changes to their playing XI with Axar getting a game. Patel was supposed to make his Test debut in the previous Test at the same venue but, pulled out due to a knee injury on the morning of the first day's play as left-arm spinner Shabaz Nadeem was named his replacement. 

'Feel privileged': Axar Patel

Taking to the micro-blogging site, Axar had posted a couple of images before the start of play of Day 1. In the first image, the southpaw is seen receiving his Test cap from Indian skipper Virat Kohli as his team-mates and support staff give him a huge round of applause. Meanwhile, in the other image, the debutant can be seen posing with his Test cap.

Expressing happiness on the same, the Gujarat cricketer wrote that 13/2/21 is a day that he will never forget for the rest of his life. The frontline spinner, as well as a lower-middle-order batsman, then mentioned that he feels privileged to represent his country in the longest format of the game. He concluded by thanking everyone for the support and good wishes and then tagged the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

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India post 300/6 on Day 1

After winning the toss and electing to bat first, opener Rohit Sharma (161) and Ajinkya Rahane batted well on a difficult surface after the hosts had lost their top-order even before breaching the three-figure mark. After both the set batsmen were dismissed, it appeared as if India would suffer a batting collapse after Ravichandran Ashwin also followed with just 13 runs to his name.

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Nonetheless, Rishabh had other ideas as he went after the English bowlers. He is unbeaten at 33 including five boundaries and a maximum as India's scorecard reads 300/6 at stumps on Day 1. With the wicket expected to deteriorate as the game progresses, it remains to be seen how many more runs will the Indian batsmen succeed in adding to their overnight score.

At the same time, Axar Patel is batting on five and he will be hoping to keep the scoreboard ticking and then proceed to make the ball talk on a wicket that is tailor-made for him. 

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