Following his side’s loss to Gujarat Titans (GT), Delhi Capitals (DC) skipper Axar Patel hailed his opponents for their batting performance and added that the ball was coming nicely on the bat in the second innings. Once invincible during the league stage with five successive wins to start off the competition, DC’s journey to playoffs became even more tougher as they succumbed to a 10-wicket loss to GT at their home arena of Arun Jaitley Stadium on Sunday. Speaking after the game in the post-match presentation, Axar said, “The way they batted was excellent. The wicket also got better as the game went on. We felt we had a par score. Got a good finish, KL (Rahul) batted well. Our bowlers tried well but did not get the win. The way we batted was a positive given the last couple of games. Fielding and bowling in the powerplay needs to improve. The ball came on nicely in the second innings. It (ball) did not stick in the pitch like it did in the first innings. They didn’t lose wickets, which made it easy as well.”

DC’s home record has been poor as compared to their away record. At home, they have won just one game via Super Over, losing the other four. Away from home, they have won five, lost just one and one match ended in a no result.

Coming to the match, GT won the toss and opted to field first.

After DC lost Faf Du Plessis early, a 90-run stand between KL Rahul and Abishek Porel (30 in 19 balls, with a four and three sixes) and cameos from skipper Axar Patel (25 in 16 balls, with two fours and a six) and Tristan Stubbs (21* in 10 balls, with two sixes) helped DC reach 199/3.

Sai Kishore, Prasidh Krishna and Arshad Khan got a wicket each.

However, DC’s bowling struggled against ultra-consistent Shubman Gill (93* in 53 balls, with three fours and seven sixes) and Sai Sudharsan (108* in just 61 balls, with 12 fours and four sixes). They put on a dominant 205 run partnership, helping GT win with an over left.

Sai was given the ‘Player of the Match’ award.

With this win, GT have made it to the playoffs, with nine wins and three losses, giving them 18 points. DC is in the fifth spot, with six wins and five losses. One of their matches ended in a no result. They have 13 points.