"Wicket got better...": Axar Patel blames pitch for DC's loss to GT, hails KL Rahul

Axar Patel's Delhi Capitals (DC) went head-to-head with Shubman Gill's Gujarat Titans (GT) in the 60th match of the Indian Premier League 2025 (IPL 2025).

Delhi Capitals (DC) lost the match against the Gujarat Titans (GT) by 10 wickets on Sunday, May 18, at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi.

Also Read: IPL Points Table, Orange Cap, Purple Cap After RR vs PBKS Match 59, DC vs GT Match 60 - IPL 2025

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I thought the wicket got better as the game progressed - Axar Patel

Batting first in the match, Delhi Capitals posted 199/3 on the board, riding on a sensational century from KL Rahul (112*). However, with the ball, they were extremely poor and allowed the Gujarat Titans to complete the run chase in 19 overs without picking any wickets.

Speaking after the match to Ravi Shastri, Axar Patel said that the pitch got better to bat on as the match progressed, and things got easier for the Gujarat Titans. He said:

"Obviously, the way they batted, if you don't lose wickets, the chase becomes easy. I thought the wicket got better as the game progressed."

KL Rahul was superb - Axar Patel

Axar was satisfied with the batting performance of his team, and he showered rich praise on KL Rahul for his batting masterclass. He said:

"I thought it was a par score, the way we finished, KL was superb, we thought this was a good score."

Axar Patel, however, was disappointed with the performance of the bowlers. He added that the batting performance of the Delhi Capitals was a big positive for them, but they need to improve their fielding. Axar elaborated:

"The bowlers tried hard, but we couldn't win today. The way we batted was a big positive, need to improve our fielding and the bowling in the powerplay. The wicket got better in the 2nd innings, it was stopping and gripping in the first innings, but not in the second. Once a batter gets set, it becomes easier to bat."

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

Delhi Capitals suffered a 7-wicket defeat to Gujarat Titans in the 35th match of IPL 2025 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, on April 19. Despite the strong performance, DC failed to clinch a win.

After being put in to bat first, DC got off to an aggressive start with Abishek Porel (18 off 9), Karun Nair (31 off 18), and KL Rahul (28 off 14) playing explosive innings.

Captain Axar Patel chipped in with a crucial 39 off 32, while Tristan Stubbs (31 off 21) and Ashutosh Sharma (37 off 19) provided the fireworks to help DC reach 203/8.

Defending the total, DC bowlers couldn’t contain Gujarat Titans' strong batting unit. Star pacer Mitchell Starc was expensive, leaking 49 runs in 3.2 overs. Kuldeep Yadav was the most economical with figures of 1/30, while Mukesh Kumar managed the only other wicket. Spinners Vipraj Nigam and Axar Patel were ineffective, and GT were allowed to chase down the target in 19.2 overs.