Delhi Capitals (DC) spinner Axar Patel made the visitors happy during their IPL 2024 match against the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at the Eden Gardens on Monday, April 29.
Phil Salt and Sunil Narine contributed 79 runs in the powerplay while chasing 154, rocking DC early. However, Axar sent Narine back with the first ball he bowled, as the southpaw was caught at deep midwicket while attempting to play the slog sweep.
Here is how Sunil Narine was dismissed:
In his following over, Axar Patel was rewarded for his stump-to-stump delivery. Phil Salt attempted to cut a delivery that was on the stumps but lost his off-pole. Here’s a video of Salt being dismissed:
Axar didn’t celebrate much after the two dismissals, which was understandable given that the match’s outcome had already been determined in the powerplay.
DC holding back Axar Patel & Kuldeep Yadav baffling
On a pitch where the Punjab Kings chased down 262 runs, the Delhi Capitals’ decision to bat first aroused some concerns. They would have seen the slowness of the surface and expecting it to slow down even further in the second innings.
Despite having only 153 runs to work with, Rishabh Pant did not offer his seasoned spinners Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav a single over in the powerplay. Phil Salt had an early start thanks to a catch lost by Lizaad Williams and punished DC with a blistering 68 off only 33 balls.
By the time Axar Patel entered the attack, KKR needed only 75 runs from 84 balls to win. Regardless of the wickets, DC will be disappointed with the toss and their decision not to bowl the spinners during the powerplay. Kolkata just needs 24 runs from seven overs at the time of writing.
