IPL 2023: Axar should be batting in top four, says DC skipper Warner

Jason Behrendorff and Piyush Chawla's three-wicket hauls followed by captain Rohit Sharma's half-century and Tilak Verma's 41 powered MI to a comprehensive 6-wicket win over DC in their IPL 2023 match at Arun Jaitley Stadium here on Tuesday

"You look at the last three IPL games we have witnessed, they have been amazing. Wrong end of it today, but the guys were fantastic. Rohit played a fantastic knock at the top of the order. Nortje is world-class and that is what we expect from him, Mustafiz too. Timmy David was on the wrong side of it, so I tried to keep it at stump height. I think from the last three games, we have some positives but we should not lose wickets in clumps. Axar should bat in the top four the way he is striking the ball. From the last three games we have played, there are a lot of positives," said Warner in a post-match presentation.

Axar's batting has been an asset for Team India and DC this year. In 12 international matches this year, Axar has managed 444 runs in 13 innings at an average of 63.82 and a strike rate of 74.12. He has scored four half-centuries, with the best score of 84. He was India's most consistent batter in this year's Border Gavaskar Trophy against Australia at home, scoring 264 runs in five innings at an average of 88.00 with three fifties. Besides this, he has also played some useful cameos in ODIs and T20Is this year.

For DC, he has managed 108 runs in four innings at an average of 27.00 at a strike rate of 168.75, with one half-century.

Following this loss, DC is at the bottom of the points table, having lost all four games. On the other hand, MI has climbed to the seventh spot on the points table, with one win and two losses in three matches. They have a total of two points.

Coming to the match, after being put to bat first by MI, DC was bundled out for 172 in 19.4 overs.

Skipper Warner (51 off 47 balls with six fours) and Axar Patel (54 off 25 balls with four boundaries and five sixes) were the top performers for DC with the bat as the rest of the line-up struggled to provide support to these two batters. Manish Pandey scored 26 in 18 balls with five fours forming a 43-run stand for the second wicket with Warner, while Axar had a 67-run stand for the sixth wicket with Warner. Both of these stands were extremely crucial for DC.

Piyush Chawla was the pick of the bowlers for MI, taking 3/22 in his four overs. Jason Behrendorff also took 3/23 in his three overs. Riley Meredith, who was playing his first game of IPL 2023, took 2/34 in 3.4 overs. Hritik Shokeen also got a wicket.

In the chase of 173, skipper Rohit Sharma and Ishan Kishan gave an explosive start to the five-time champions. The duo stitched a stand of 71 runs in just 45 balls before Kishan departed for 31 off 26 balls with six fours. Tilak Verma continued to impress this season, forming a 68-run stand for the second wicket with Rohit before he was dismissed for 41 off 29 balls, with one four and four sixes. Suryakumar Yadav's lean patch continued as he registered his fourth golden duck in the last seven innings in competitive cricket.

Before falling to Mustafizur Rahman, Rohit scored his first IPL half-century in 24 innings, the longest gap for an opener in IPL. He made 65 off 45 balls with six fours and four sixes.

The duo of Tim David (13*) and Cameron Green (17*) won the match for MI in a last-ball thriller, with the former surviving a run-out attempt while his side needed two runs in the final ball, completing the second run and winning the game for his side.

Mukesh Kumar was the pick of the bowlers for DC, taking 2/30 in two overs. Mustafizur took 1/38 in four overs.

Skipper Rohit was declared 'Player of the Match' for his half-century.

Brief score: Delhi Capitals 172 (Axar Patel 54, David Warner 51; Jason Behrendorff 3-23) vs Mumbai Indians 173/4 (Rohit Sharma 65, Tilak Varma 41; Mukesh Kumar 2-30). (ANI)