Axar Patel blames Dushmantha Chameera, Mitchell Starc for loss to KKR, drops injury update

Axar Patel-led Delhi Capitals (DC) hosted the Ajinkya Rahane-led Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the 48th match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 on Tuesday, April 29.

Delhi Capitals (DC) lost the IPL 2025 match against the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) by 14 runs at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi.

Also Read: DC Qualification Scenario: How Delhi Can Qualify For IPL Playoffs 2025 After DC vs KKR

SHORTS

View More

Your daily dose of cricket!

Loading...

We gave away 15-20 runs too many - Axar Patel

Opting to bowl first in the match, Delhi Capitals restricted Kolkata Knight Riders to 204/9 after a poor powerplay. Mitchell Starc (3), Vipraj Nigam (2), Axar Patel (2), and Dushmantha Chameera (1) were among the wickets for the home team.

Chasing the target, only three batters, Faf du Plessis (62), Axar Patel (15), and Vipraj Nigam (38) made impactful contributions, and they were restricted to 190/9

Speaking to broadcasters after the match, Axar Patel blamed the poor powerplay bowling as well as soft dismissals for their loss to KKR. He said:

"I think how the wicket was and how we bowled in the powerplay, we gave away 15-20 runs too many. We also lost a few wickets in a soft manner."

Notably, there were three very expensive overs bowled by DC in the powerplay, as in one over Dushmantha Chameera gave away 25 runs while Mitchell Starc gave 14 and 15 runs in two of the three overs he bowled.

The positive was how we restricted them after the powerplay - Axar Patel

When asked about the positives from the match, Axar Patel said that they restricted KKR to a decent score after the poor powerplay and also lauded Vipraj Nigam. He said:

"The positive was how we restricted them after the powerplay, coming to the batting, even though few batters failed, 2-3 of us contributed and took it so close. When Vipraj was batting there was hope, if Ashutosh was there then they could have repeated the first game."

Axar Patel, who got injured while fielding in the first innings, dropped a major injury update at the end and stated that he is hopeful of his quick recovery.

"My skin got peeled off as I dived on the practice wickets to stop the ball, but the good thing is there are 3-4 days break and hopefully I will be able to recover," Axar Patel said.

How did DC perform in the previous IPL match against KKR?

In the previous IPL match between Delhi Capitals (DC) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at Eden Gardens on April 29, 2024, DC suffered a 7-wicket defeat with 21 balls remaining.

Opting to bat first, Delhi Capitals struggled to post a competitive total on the board. Openers Prithvi Shaw and Jake Fraser-McGurk, as well as No.3 Shai Hope, got dismissed inside 4 overs, leaving DC reeling at 37/3.

Their middle-order, led by Rishabh Pant (27), failed to recover from the early blows as the Kolkata Knight Riders bowlers dominated the match. In the end, Kuldeep Yadav provided a glimmer of hope with an unbeaten 35, helping the team reach a total of 153/9 in their 20 overs.

With the ball, Delhi Capitals got off to a terrible start as Phil Salt and Sunil Narine demolished the bowling unit with their aggressive brand of cricket.

DC got their first two wickets when Axar Patel dismissed Sunil Narine in the 7th over and Phil Salt in the 9th over, while Lizaad Williams picked the third wicket by dismissing Rinku Singh in the 10th over. After that, Shreyas Iyer and Venkatesh Iyer joined forces to complete the run chase in 16.3 overs.