The most important part I thought was played by Axar Patel: Wasim Jaffer

Former Indian batsman Wasim Jaffer was full of praise for Indian allrounder Axar Paelf for his crucial contribution with the bat during the middle overs of 1st innings of the 2024 ICC T20 World Cup final. Axar came in to bat when India were struggling at 34 for the loss of 3 wickets. He played an innings that was a combination of aggression and game awareness before eventually becoming runout by virtue of brilliant fielding by the South African wicketkeeper Quinton De Kock. “The most important part I thought was played by Axar Patel. The cameo that he played ensured that the run rate from India never dropped below eight runs per over. He took the attack to the South African bowlers and didn't let them settle, forming a crucial partnership with Kohli,” Wasim said on his YouTube channel. 

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Wasim also praised Virat for his cautious approach that held one end intact when a flow of runs was needed. Virat had underperformed throughout the series but managed to score a half century in the final. “Virat Kohli hadn't scored many runs in the tournament, but he chose the right moment to come good. Cometh the hour, cometh the man as we say, his knock of 76 made a lot of difference and kept one end intact,” Wasim remarked.