‘Had to get hold of Axar for the back-end…’: Warner explains DC’s bizarre strategy vs SRH | Cricket
delhi capitals There was a narrow defeat against Sunrisers Hyderabad on Saturday as they remained at the bottom of the table with two wins from eight matches. However, the side raised a few eyebrows with its strategy SRH The game in Delhi which left fans stunned on social media platforms. Chasing a target of 198, DC were the more dominant team in the run-chase; They had scored 115/3 in the 12th over. After the wicket of Manish Pandey, the Capitals first sent Priyam Garg and then the out-of-form Sarfaraz Khan to bat.
While Priyam could manage only 12 runs in 9 balls, Sarfaraz played a forgettable innings scoring 9 runs in 10 balls. Axar Patel, who has been in fine form with the bat, reached the crease in just 26 balls with 58 more runs needed to win. Despite striking at 207.14 in fourteen balls, Axar could not help DC reach home, leaving Capitals fans furious with the strategy adopted by the team management.
The side’s captain David Warner – who suffered a rare failure (0 off 2 balls) in the game – was asked about Axar’s batting position after the game and the DC skipper admitted it was a tough call.
“He is in good touch but for us, we got off to a good start. With him in the back end, we knew it would be important with the spinners turning left-arm. We only had me and Akshar (left-arm) batsmen). It can be difficult for the back-end to get hold of Axar, but when we are in that moment there are some challenges. Maybe we can think of sending him a little earlier,” said Warner.
Axar has scored 211 runs in 8 matches, batting in the lower-middle order for the Capitals; With a decent strike rate of 142.57, the left-handed Axar has largely been DC’s savior amid their struggles up the batting order.
