‘Axar Pads Pehen Le’: All-Rounder Reveals How Rohit & Kohli’s Mindset Helped IND Orchestrate WC Win

Team India's T20 World Cup win isn't something which was handed out to them on a platter. The entire Men in Blue had to fight it out in order to secure a title and end their decade-long win. India looked to be struggling with the bat, but they managed to make it meet and secured the title as an undefeated force against the Proteas. The batting side often made some mistakes but eventually, they fell in line to secure a win and head further. The World Cup Final too was not an easy route for India with the bat, but all-rounder Axar Patelhow Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli were critical in shaping the team's road towards victory.

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Axar Patel Reveals His Thoughts During T20 WC Final, Reveals How Rohit’s Instincts & Communication With Kohli Helped India Win

The T20 World Cup final was a heart-pounding affair as it looked like the win was out of India's hands. But Virat Kohli and Axar Patel helped ease it out as they effectively put up runs with the bat. The all-rounder opened up on what he was thinking as he was tensed before entering the pitch. But Rohit Sharma's instincts for asking him to pad up, Hardik Pandya's talk and the on-field communication with Virat Kohli which helped him hit the runs.

"Rohit bhai was standing beside me when Rishabh Pant got out. He told me 'Axar pads pehen le'. After that (Yuzvendra) Chahal came running to tell me that Rahul (Dravid) Bhai wants me to pad up. When I was padding up I did not know what to do. We were two wickets down and I had still not analysed the pitch. Next, I saw Suryakumar (Yadav) also got out. Things happened so suddenly that I did not have time to think. When I was going down the staircase, Hardik told me in Gujarati not to take any stress. 'Just watch the ball and hit the ball,' he said and it stuck with me.

"I hit a boundary off the first ball I faced. I became very confident. I spoke to Virat bhai and he kept guiding me. He said, 'I'm there. If you think that you can hit, then go for it.' The constant communication was helpful. The rest is history," Axar Patel said while speaking to Cricbuzz.

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In the end, Team India struck up a spectacular win as they ended the longstanding title drought and brought back some silverware to the country. The entire team received fervour and love as they returned to India.