"This innings itself shows Axar will be an upgrade over Jadeja in WC team" - Twitter reacts to all-rounder's 50 in DC vs GT IPL 2024 contest 

Delhi Capitals (DC) all-rounder Axar Patel made the most of his promotion to No.3 in the 2024 Indian Premier League (IPL) clash against the Gujarat Titans (GT). The left-handed batter scored a crucial 66 runs off 43 balls after DC were reeling at 44-3 at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Wednesday, April 24.

Axar, who had recently hinted at being upset over batting down the order because of the impact player rule, came into bat in the fourth over itself after Jake Fraser-McGurk's dismissal.

He was joined by skipper Rishabh Pant at the other end after Shai Hope and Prtihvi Shaw were dismissed in quick succession at the end of the powerplay.

The left-handed duo of Axar and Pant put on 113 runs for the fourth wicket to rebuild DC's innings. Axar Patel switched gears as the innings progressed, before perishing to Noor Ahmad in the 17th over. The all-rounder's knock included five fours and four sixes and it came at a strike rate of 153.49.

Fans praised Axar Patel's knock and made a strong case for him to be considered in Team India's T20 World Cup squad ahead of Ravindra Jadeja.

Here are some of the reactions on Twitter:

"This innings itself shows Axar will be an upgrade over Jadeja in WC team," one fan wrote.

"I was skeptical about you playing at no. 3 but you were astounding!" another fan remarked.

"Jadeja watching Axar's batting against GT before the T-20 world cup," one fan included a funny video as well.

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Axar Patel's knock against GT marked his highest IPL score

The all-rounder recorded the second fifty of his IPL career, and managed to turn it into his highest score in the competition. He scored 54 runs off 25 deliveries in the 2023 Indian Premier League (IPL) against the Mumbai Indians (MI) to score his maiden fifty.

He recorded his most prolific season as a batter in the 2023 season as the rest of the DC batting unit struggled.

"My role was to take on the three spinners, the talk was that we should take the partnership as deep as possible, the ball wasn't coming onto the bat, was a slow pitch," Axar Patel said during the innings break

He had also scored a memorable 65 runs off 31 deliveries in national colors during the bilateral T20 series against Sri Lanka in 2023.