They lost the match by six wickets last night.
Former India spinner Anil Kumble was baffled to witness the captaincy blunder from Delhi Capitals (DC) skipper Axar Patel before the penultimate over of Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s (RCB) chase in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 last night. Axar handed the ball to Mukesh Kumar for the final over while defending just 17 runs off 12 deliveries.
“I don’t know [what DC were thinking]. When you have 18-19 runs [17] to defend in the last two overs, you give the 19th over to your best bowler, to take it till the end. I was surprised that he gave the ball to Mukesh and not Starc. The result might have been the same, but the intent was wrong,” he stated on ESPN Cricinfo’s Time Out show.
The former RCB coach, Sanjay Bangar, also pointed out Axar’s tactical miss. He said that the super over victory against the Rajasthan Royals, where the Australian pacer successfully defended nine runs in the final over, may have been playing on his mind.
He opined that Axar could have brought in newbie Vipraj Nigam in the 20th over and bowled Starc in the 19th, instead of keeping him for the final over.
“It must be the hangover from the [game against] RR. Axar must have thought that since Starc had defended nine runs in that last over, so let’s give this to Mukesh and see. It might have worked, but the thought process was wrong. Your best bowler should have bowled that over. Even if Starc had conceded, say, 12 runs, you have a legspinner [Nigam] for the last over if you don’t want to bowl Mukesh. Spinners sometimes create magical moments. It was a mistake on Axar’s part,” added Bangar.
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RCB avenged their Chinnaswamy defeat against DC with a six-wicket victory in the IPL 2025 reverse fixture. After electing to field first at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, the Royal Challengers restricted the hosts from striking big till 17 overs of the game. A late surge from Tristan Stubbs, who scored 34 runs off 18 balls at a fierce strike rate of 188.88, powered the total to a formidable 162/8.
However, DC made a stunning comeback in the second innings to scalp three wickets in the powerplay. But a solid 119-run partnership off 84 balls, between Virat Kohli and Krunal Pandya, ensured an easy chase for the Challengers.
With this win, RCB have climbed up to the top of the IPL 2025 points table. They are currently just a win away from confirming their playoff berth. If Rajat Patidar and Co. could carry on with their red-hot form in the remaining four matches, they might finish in the top two.
On the other hand, DC have slipped into fourth place after last night’s loss against RCB. They will need two wins out of five matches to qualify for the IPL 2025 playoffs. Axar and Co. will go head-to-head with the Kolkata Knight Riders at the same stadium tomorrow.
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