McDonald lauds ‘outstanding’ Axar

HYDERABAD: Ravindra Jadeja’s absence from the T20 series was expected to weaken India but the host found an able replacement in “outstanding” Axar Patel, said Australia head coach Andrew McDonald.

Left-arm spinner Axar, a like-for-like replacement for the injured Jadeja, impressed with his bowling, ending as the leading wicket-taker in the three-match series with eight scalps. “Axar, in particular, had an outstanding series. With Jaddu out, everyone thought that it (his absence) might become a bit of a weakness for India, but it (India) has found another one again, which tends to happen,” McDonald said.

The Australia bowling attack, comprising the pace duo of Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood, was taken to the cleaners by the India batters. Asked if it is a concern heading into the World Cup, McDonald said: “Across the series, the run rate was high. It was entertaining cricket from the get-go. Bat dominated the ball, so there was really no place to hide for the bowling units, particularly at the death.

“We worked our way through some plans. We saw good results with some of the plans that we implemented, which might be able to transition to the World Cup.”