The Axar Patel-led Delhi Capitals (DC) opened their campaign in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 with the match against Rishabh Pant-led Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) on Monday, March 24.
Delhi Capitals won against Lucknow Super Giants in the thrilling 4th match of the season by 1 wicket at the Dr. YSR Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium, Visakhapatnam.
Also Read: IPL Points Table 2025: Orange Cap, Purple Cap List After DC vs LSG, Match 4
Under my captaincy, you will see a lot of results like these – Axar Patel
Bowling first in the match, DC were destroyed by Nicholas Pooran and Mitchell Marsh, but they pulled things back to restrict LSG to 209/8. While chasing the target, they were reduced to 3/7, but Ashutosh Sharma, Tristan Stubbs, and Vipraj Nigam batted brilliantly to steer DC to a thrilling win.
Speaking after the match, Axar Patel said that the fans should get used to seeing this kind of match under his captaincy. He said:
“Get used to it. Under my captaincy, you will see a lot of results like these (laughs). We got the win so we won’t talk a lot. Why did you give bowling to Stubbs and all that. But after losing four wickets inside the powerplay, it was a great effort to get across the line.”
Axar Patel also said that the ultra-aggressive batting in the Indian Premier League started after the introduction of the impact player rule. He said:
“It started from last year due to the impact player rule. The bowlers get hit but they continue to get wickets. As a bowler, if you think you will get hit, there is always an option that you will get wickets.”
But in the last seven overs, we bowled very well – Axar Patel
Axar Patel further stated that they bowled poorly in the powerplay overs but bounced back nicely in the last few overs. He stated:
“I thought with the way they played in the first six overs, I thought we gave some extra runs. There were dropped catches as well. But in the last seven overs, we bowled very well. We gave 40-odd runs. It looked like they would get to 240-250 but we did very well to pull back things.”
Axar Patel also gave a special shoutout to Vipraj Nigam for his brilliance with the bat during the run-chase. He stated:
“We are doing the camp since the last week. Everyone knows each other’s potential. We thought Nigam has the potential. In the future games, he will continue to flourish.”
How did DC perform in the previous IPL match against LSG?
In their previous IPL match against Lucknow Super Giants, the Delhi Capitals delivered a strong all-round performance on May 14, 2024, to secure a 19-run win.
Batting first, DC faced an early setback as Jake Fraser-McGurk fell for a duck. However, Abishek Porel (58 off 33) and Shai Hope (38 off 27) counterattacked the LSG bowlers on the back foot. Porel raced to a 21-ball fifty, helping DC reach 73/1 in the powerplay.
After that, Rishabh Pant chipped in with a 33-run knock while Tristan Stubbs played an explosive innings (57* off 25) to guide DC to a total of 208/4.
With the ball, DC made early inroads as Ishant Sharma (3/34) dismantled LSG’s top order, removing KL Rahul, Quinton de Kock, and Deepak Hooda inside five overs.
Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav contributed with crucial breakthroughs as well, reducing LSG to 101/6 despite Nicholas Pooran’s fighting 61 off 27 balls.
Even as Arshad Khan (58* off 33) launched a late assault, DC’s bowlers held their nerve and restricted LSG to 189/9. With this win, DC finished their league campaign on a high, clinching their seventh victory of the season.
