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Delhi Capitals (DC) captain Axar Patel finally appeared to concede defeat in his team’s Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 campaign after DC suffered a crushing loss against the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on Friday, May 8. After restricting Delhi to just 142 runs in 20 overs, KKR, powered by a stunning century from Finn Allen, chased down the target in only 14.2 overs.
The dominant victory significantly boosted Kolkata’s net run rate while pushing Delhi closer to elimination from the Indian Premier League 2026 playoffs race, although they are still mathematically alive.
Axar Patel admits DC already thinking about next season
Speaking after the defeat, Axar Patel admitted that Delhi’s batting collapse once again proved costly and hinted that the franchise may now start planning for the next season.
"I think the runs were definitely below par and at the same time the spinners made quite a few mistakes. Looking at the way the pitch behaved, I feel the spinners did make errors. But at the same time, if you notice, we lost five wickets in two-three overs, and I think that’s where the momentum slipped away from us," Axar said.
The DC skipper pointed out that the same issue occurred in their previous defeat against Chennai Super Kings, where the batting lineup failed to recover after losing wickets in clusters.
"That’s probably something we need to think about because the same thing happened against CSK, we started well, and then suddenly wickets kept falling," he added.
Axar further explained that the team now needs a stronger mindset during pressure situations instead of panicking after losing quick wickets.
"See, you can’t solve it in a complicated way. While Ashutosh and I were batting, we were thinking that if we made a mistake there, it would become very difficult for the next batter coming in. So I think it’s more about applying the right mindset," he said.
"Even if you lose one or two wickets, you can still spend time at the crease and play through it. I think that’s what needs to be applied, when wickets are falling in clusters, you need to absorb the pressure for an over or two," he added.
Axar also hinted that Delhi could start evaluating bench strength and future plans for IPL 2027.
"For now we’ll go back and think about the mistakes we made. After that, obviously there’s still a long journey ahead and next year will come too. So we’ll think about what plans we can make for next year and what approach we should take," Axar Patel stated.
"Based on that, we can also look at the players sitting on the bench and decide who can be given opportunities and what changes we can make," he concluded.
Finn Allen’s unbeaten century powers KKR to massive win
Delhi Capitals, who were put into bat first after losing the toss, never truly managed to gain momentum with the bat. Opener KL Rahul departed in the fifth over after scoring 23 runs off 14 balls, while Pathum Nissanka was the lone bright spot in the top order with a quickfire 50 off 29 deliveries.
Ashutosh Sharma chipped in with a valuable 39-run knock from 28 balls late in the innings to help Delhi post a modest total of 142 runs.
However, KKR opener Finn Allen completely dominated the chase. The New Zealand batter smashed an unbeaten 100 off just 47 deliveries, including 10 sixes, as Kolkata cruised to victory in only 14.2 overs. Cameron Green also remained unbeaten on 33 off 27 balls as KKR comfortably sealed one of their biggest wins of the season.
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