After India D lost five of their top order batters in quick succession in the first session of day one, the Indian international stitched together valuable partnerships with the lower order, to help his team post 164 runs on the board in their first innings. After Ruturaj Gaikwad, the India C captain, put India D into batting first on a spicy pitch in Anantapur, their fast bowlers wreaked havoc on the opposition. Anshul Kamboj and Vijaykumar Vyshak picked up wickets in the first hour of the first session's play on day one, to have India D reeling at 34/5 before Axar Patel walked out to bat in the middle for his team. Axar Patel scored 86 out of 164 runs in India D's first innings against India C in Duleep Trophy While the wickets kept falling from the other end, the left-handed batter managed to blend caution with aggression in a perfect manner during his innings, taking down the India C bowlers one after another. Axar Patel was quite severe on the spinners Manav Suthar and Hrithik Shokeen, smashing them for fours and maximums at will, to keep the India D scorecard moving forward. Watch the video of Axar Patel taking down Manav Suthar here: