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WATCH: Axar Patel takes mind-blowing catch to dismiss Robin Uthappa during KXIP vs KKR match at Mohali

Mohali: Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) fought back hard to pull off a superb win against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in Match 49 of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2017. After facing defeat against Gujarat Lions due to a poor fielding effort in their previous match, KXIP players put a great show in the field which proved to be decisive.

Batting first, KKR got off to a quick start as Chris Lynn and Sunil Narine smashed 39 runs in first four overs. After Narine was removed by Sandeep Sharma, Gautam Gambhir couldn’t do much and was back in the hut after scoring eight runs off 18 balls.

Robin Uthappa, the wicketkeeper batsman who missed a few games for the team due to a niggle, was expected to steady the ship. But that wasn’t the case as Axar Patel held on to a mind-blowing catch near deep midwicket to dismiss him for a duck.

It happened in the tenth over of KKR’s chase, when Uthappa played a slog-sweep off Rahul Tewatia’s bowling. The right-hander didn’t time the shot well, and the ball went towards the vacant midwicket area. Fielding at deep midwicket, Axar jumped his time to perfection towards his right, and held on to a low diving catch, much to the delight of his team-mates and local spectators. 

Watch the video here:

#AxarPatel takes superb catch to dismiss #KKR’s Robin Uthappahttps://t.co/hLYBJyIJeA

— Cricket-atti (@cricketatti) May 10, 2017

It was a huge blow for Kolkata considering the team had lost Gambhir’s wicket in the same over.

Later in the match, Axar once again proved his mettle when a rocket throw from him saw set batsman Chris Lynn short of his crease.

KXIP skipper Glenn Maxwell was full of praise for his players, who had put a great fielding effort in what was a remarkable win for them.

“I asked for an improved performance on the field and certainly got that tonight. Axar Patel led by example on the field. I suppose the spinners came into the game, Rahul Tewatia bowled really well,” Maxwell said after the match.

Punjab’s decision to play three spinners proved to be a masterstroke as Axar, Rahul Tewatia and Swapnil Singh asphyxiated KKR’s star-studded batsmen with a disciplined bowling effort.

“As soon as that first ball spun, we realised we could get in a lot of overs from the spinners. We were able to get a couple of wickets in the middle, and kept them quiet till the end,” he said.

Source: Zee News