In the night match of Sunday’s double-header, Axar Patel-led Delhi Capitals (DC) went head-to-head with Faf du Plessis-led Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in match 62 of the Indian Premier League 2024 (IPL ). 2024) at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.
Winning the toss and bowling first in the match, DC got off to a poor start as the RCB batsmen played an attacking brand of cricket with Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar, Will Jacks and Cameron Green firing.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru looked set to surpass the score of 200, but the DC players did not let that happen and pulled off a stunning comeback in the match. Khaleel Ahmed (2), Rasikh Salam (2), Kuldeep Yadav (1), Mukesh Kumar (1) and Ishant Sharma (1) did a great job and were among the wickets.
Chasing the target, Delhi Capitals went to the worst possible as they lost 4 wickets at a score of 30. Shai Hope and Axar Patel built a decent partnership before the former was dismissed. Axar Patel (57) was the only warrior in the innings and did not get much support from the other end, resulting in DC being bowled out for 140 and losing the match by 47 runs.
Speaking after the match, Axar Patel blamed dropped catches for his team’s loss. He also criticized his pitchers and hitters for not doing a good job. Axar Patel said:
“The missed catches hurt us. We could have restricted it to 150. When you lose four wickets in a powerplay, you are always chasing the game. 160-170 would have been a par score.
Axar Patel also revealed that the pitch had two paces and said that they had not thought about the qualification scenario after the loss against RCB. He said:
“Pitching had two rhythms. Some skated, some held. When your main guys are down and you lose four on the power play, you’re chasing the game. Anything can happen, just don’t think so far ahead. “
Axar Patel was captain in the match against Royal Challengers Bengaluru for this reason
Star all-rounder Axar Patel had to lead Delhi Capitals in the match against Royal Challengers Bengaluru because BCCI suspended original captain Rishabh Pant for a match.
Pant received a suspension for violating the IPL Code of Conduct as his team maintained a slow overrating during the match against Rajasthan Royals in Delhi on May 7. It was the third time Pant’s Delhi Capitals were penalized for the slow over-rating offence. Therefore, the team captain was sanctioned by the governing body.
Along with the suspension, Rishabh Pant was fined INR 30 lakh of his match fees, while the rest of the DC players were fined INR 12 lakh or 50% of their match fees, whichever is less.
The Delhi Capitals team management decided to file an appeal against the decision and the matter was referred to the board’s ombudsman for review. Rishabh Pant attended the hearing along with Sourav Ganguly, Ricky Ponting and DC CEO Sunil Gupta, but the match referee’s decision was ultimately upheld.
Notably, Delhi Capitals put forward the argument that the delay in the innings was due to six hits by the Rajasthan Royals batsmen as well as the controversial dismissal of RR captain Sanju Samson. However, with no evidence to prove their argument was correct, DC’s appeal was rejected and their skipper was suspended as it took them 117.82 minutes to complete their 20 overs.
Instead of Rishabh Pant, the leadership was entrusted to all-rounder Axar Patel and the development was confirmed by head coach Ricky Ponting during a media interaction.