Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh) [India], March 30 (ANI): Following Delhi Capitals' (DC) victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), captain Axar Patel expressed happiness over pacer Mitchell Starc's five-wicket haul and shared the franchise's plans for their upcoming matches at their primary home venue, Arun Jaitley Stadium.
Axar-led Delhi registered their second consecutive win as a brilliant five-wicket haul by Starc and a half-century by Faf du Plessis helped DC secure a seven-wicket victory over SRH. The loss pushed SRH to seventh place in the points table after their spectacular win against the Rajasthan Royals (RR), while DC moved to second place.
Following the match in the post-match presentation, Axar said, "I have told before that I am going to lead the side in the same manner. You need to be up with your game. You cannot take any game easily, there are 10 good teams playing. We need to focus on our plans and process. Today we were successful in doing so. Plan was to give Starc two overs at the start and two overs at the end, but he was in good rhythm. Hence, I gave him the third over and he was able to pick an important wicket. We have experienced players in the team, they give me suggestions. Sometimes I follow them. Enjoying playing with these players. We are playing at Kotla since many years, we will have similar plans. Need to assess the conditions after going there."
SRH won the toss and opted to bat first but soon regretted the decision as Starc's fiery spell reduced them to 37/4. A crucial 77-run partnership between Aniket Verma (74 off 41 balls, with five fours and six sixes) and Heinrich Klaasen (32 off 19 balls, with two fours and two sixes) helped SRH recover. However, Kuldeep Yadav (3/22) and Starc (5/35) dismantled the batting lineup, bundling SRH out for 163 in 18.4 overs.
In response, DC's chase of 164 got off to a strong start with an 81-run opening stand between Jake Fraser-McGurk (38 off 32 balls, with four boundaries and two sixes) and Faf du Plessis (50 off 27 balls, with three fours and three sixes). Despite losing quick wickets, DC remained in control. A steady partnership between Abishek Porel (34* off 18 balls, with two fours and two sixes) and Tristan Stubbs (21 off 14 balls, with three fours) guided DC to a seven-wicket win with four overs to spare.
Mitchell Starc was awarded the 'Player of the Match' for his exceptional performance. (ANI)