Jaipur, May 2 (IANS) Delhi Capitals captain Axar Patel lauded his team’s all-round effort after they bounced back in style with a seven-wicket win over Rajasthan Royals, chasing down a daunting 226 in IPL 2026.
After three consecutive losses against Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Punjab Kings and Sunrisers Hyderabad, DC came into the match looking to get back to winning ways and produced a clinical performance to do exactly that. Axar was particularly pleased with how his team executed their plans with both bat and ball.
“Even after the last match, when I was giving interviews, I was saying the same thing — that you have to come every day and keep doing the same things. You can always turn things around. So yes, very happy with the way the boys played today,” Axar said.
The DC skipper singled out Mitchell Starc for special praise, who was playing his first match of the season after recovering from shoulder and elbow injuries. The Australian left-armer made an immediate impact, dismissing Yashasvi Jaiswal in his very first over and returning at a crucial stage to get the big wickets of Ravindra Jadeja and Riyan Parag and finishing with figures of 3 for 40
“The way he bowled today, that’s why he’s a legend of the game. After three months away, coming back and delivering a performance like this on a wicket like this — it tells you how big a player he is. Very happy that Starc is back and showing everyone why he’s such a great bowler,” Axar said.
The opening breakthrough by Starc and Jamieson’s brilliant yorker that dismissed Sooryavanshi put the Rajasthan Royals on the back foot at the start of a tough chase. They made a strong recovery after captain Riyan Parag’s knock of 90 which allowed them to reach a competitive 225.
Although Delhi’s chase was difficult because of the big target of 225 runs, the foundation of the Delhi innings was established through excellent partnerships between Nissanka (62 off 33) and Player of the Match (KL Rahul) who scored 75 runs off 40 balls forming a partnership of 110 runs with each other. Delhi got further support in the form of other players including Nitish Rana, Tristan Stubbs, and Ashutosh Sharma, who helped to easily wrap up the innings in just 19.1 overs with 7 wickets remaining.
Axar credited the team’s overall execution for the result. “The way they batted and bowled, I think both departments were excellent, and I’m very happy. The plan was executed exactly the way we wanted, and because of that, we got the results too,” he noted.
He also highlighted the importance of early breakthroughs against dangerous opposition batters. “As a captain, you can’t be happier than that. If you can get the wickets of the opposition’s main batters — the ones who can change the game in the powerplay — then at that moment there’s nobody happier than me,” Axar added.
With this win, Delhi Capitals not only registered their highest successful chase in IPL history but also regained momentum in the tournament, with their captain expressing satisfaction at a performance where both departments clicked in unison.
–IANS
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