Delhi Capitals Captain Axar Patel blamed the defeat against Kolkata Knight Riders in an IPL match at Arun Jaitley Stadium on the side’s bowling performance. Axar said the bowlers had given away some 15-20 runs extra in the powerplay, which in his view was very crucial in the loss. Nonetheless, he commended the bowlers in his team for taking quick wickets after the powerplay. KKR had scored 79 runs in the powerplay and lost only one wicket. Following that, DC’s bowlers took five wickets in the next ten overs to reduce KKR to 174-5 before eventually finishing their innings with a score of 204/9.
In the post-match presser, Axar admitted, “The wicket played a part in our bowling during the powerplay, and we let them score more than we should have. We also lost a few wickets easily. On the bright side, we did well to limit their runs after the powerplay. Even though some of our batters struggled, a few of us stepped up and got close.”
Axar was hopeful Vipraj and Ashutosh would take the team across the line again just like they did in their opener against Lucknow Super Giants. He said: “When Vipraj was batting, there was a chance. They could have pulled off another win with Ashutosh. I got a bit scraped up trying to stop the ball; a bruised knee is all, but at least we have a few days to recover.”
This was DC’s second consecutive home loss, and the team now stands fourth with 6 victories from 10 matches in the tournament. They are next scheduled to meet Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at Rajiv- Gandhi international stadium.