On Saturday, April 29, Sunrisers Hyderabad defeated Delhi Capitals by nine runs. Their sixth setback in the ongoing IPL 2023 season. As a consequence, despite his stellar record Axar Patel was made to wait as the home team chose Priyam Garg and Sarfaraz Khan over the southpaw. Leaving fans bewildered on social media.
While Garg scored 12 off nine deliveries, Sarfaraz had another poor performance, scoring nine off ten balls. Notably, their innings finally placed the Capitals under a lot of strain, as they were 115/3 after 12.3 overs. As a result, they came extremely close to winning, but due to several dubious judgments. The Capitals lost by a whisker.
Meanwhile, DC skipper David Warner explained the decision, saying it was a difficult one but that the team could have promoted Axar because he has the necessary form and experience.
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“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, it can be difficult, but there are challenges that present us when we are in that moment. Maybe we could think about sending him a bit earlier,”
David Warner on Hindustan Times
Notably, the 29-year-old scored 29 runs off 14 balls, thus if he had been given more time in the middle, Axar may have given Delhi the victory. Sunrisers Hyderabad received a promotion and moved up to ninth, while DC lost and stayed at the bottom of the IPL Points Table. While SRH will host Kolkata Knight Riders on May 4, DC will play Gujarat Titans on May 2.
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