David Warner explains the reason he held Axar Patel back against Sunrisers Hyderabad
Delhi Capitals are struggling to put points on the board as they face another defeat in the ongoing season of the Indian Premier League 2023 by Sunrisers Hyderabad, which raised questions over the captain's decision to hold back Axar Patel till the end. Patel is one of the most informed batsmen in the Delhi Capitals, and he came to bad at number 7 when the equation of his team was quite screwed up. At the end of the match, captain David Warner explained the reason for not promoting Patel higher in the batting order.
On the other side, Sunrisers Hyderabad got a much-needed win after losing three matches in a row. The Delhi Capitals needed 58 runs in 26 balls when Patel came on at number 7, but the job was too much for him because other batsmen on his team had already wasted too many balls.
David Warner said in a post-match presentation that "he's in good touch, but for us, we got off to a good start. With him in the back end, we knew it was going to be vital with spinners spinning into left-handers. We only had myself and Axar among left-handed batters. Holding Axar for the back end can be difficult, but there are challenges that present themselves when we are in that moment. Maybe we could think about sending him a bit earlier."
He further added, "We were off a bit with the ball, but I think Mitch Marsh bowled fantastic. He was our best bowler. To come up nine runs short is disappointing. I don't think the pitch slowed down a lot; they took the pace off. When you lose wickets in the middle, it can be extremely difficult."
David Warner also said that the Delhi Capitals must build their momentum in the middle order by getting at least two batsmen to reach 80 or more runs, and senior players must take on the responsibilities as the team is suffering and in need of help.
The Delhi Capitals are in last place in the IPL 2023 points table.