BGT 2022/23: Axar Patel attains STAGGERING feat after India beat Australia 2-1

India ended the 2022/23 Border-Gavaskar Trophy versus Australia by beating the visitors 2-1 after the fourth and final Test, in Ahmedabad, ended in a tame draw on Monday (March 13).The series saw India enter the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) final, where they will once again face Australia, on June 07, in order to win the coveted title. There were many top performers for India with the likes of captain Rohit Sharma, R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Shubman Gill, Axar Patel doing well in the four Tests. Talking about the spin-bowling all-rounder Axar, he saw his stocks rising as a batter with three crucial half-centuries. During the Ahmedabad Test, the local boy Axar achieved a massive feat on Day 5 of the series decider.

Axar became the fifth cricketer to hit 500 runs and take 50 wickets in 12 Tests. He now has 513 runs and 50 wickets in the purest format of the game. In addition, he became only the second Indian to achieve the historic feat after veteran R Ashwin (596 runs and 63 wickets).

The exclusive club is led by South Africa's Aubrey Faulkner (682 runs and 52 wickets), who is followed by Australia's Jack Gregory (744 runs and 57 wickets) and England great Ian Botham (549 runs and 70 wickets).

Former Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh also lauded Axar for his performances in the 2022/23 BGT. "Well, he's been phenomenal with the bat. He didn't get too many chances with the ball in this particular series because Jadeja was doing the damage. Ashwin bowled well in the series. So, I feel as a batter, you know Axar coming at No.8 or 9 and scoring those winning knocks, 70 in Delhi and another one in Nagpur," Harbhajan told India Today.

"He put India ahead in this game by scoring those runs in quick fashion and, of course, good to see him evolving himself as an all-rounder more with the bat now, since he has got the opportunity and he is making the most of it and it's good to see that he's not shying away," Bhajji added.

Axar ended with 264 runs -- third-most overall -- along with three scalps in the just-concluded Australia Tests.