Delhi Capitals (DC) almost succumbed to their sixth straight loss in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 season but were rescued by yet another Axar Patel cameo during their match against the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at the Feroz Shah Kotla in Kolkata on Thursday, April 20.
Chasing 128 for the win, they were initially in a strong position after the captain's quick half-century, but then quickly went from 93 for 3 to 111 for 6 after part-time spinners Anukul Roy and Nitish Rana got quick wickets to join the ever-present Varun Chakravarthy and take the game to the death. In the end, with seven runs needed off the last over, Axar Patel and Lalit Yadav steadied the ship and secured a four-wicket win with four balls to spare.
After the match, Warner was not at all happy with his team's batting and expressed his disappointment, saying that he 'can't tell people how to bat'. "We don't really have too many discussions because you have to back your skills and I can't tell people how to bat. You have to actually work it out," Warner said in the post-match press conference after DC's win.
The top-order batters Prithvi Shaw and Mitchell Marsh have been more than poor, with Marsh scoring just six runs in the six matches that he has played this season. Warner blamed his low strike rate to the inability of the batters in his team. "If you are going to face bowling, guys who bowl at 150 kmph, you need to have the technique and method to score, and if they are going to keep coming at you and they bowl into your ribcage, you have to find a way to score," he said.
"In the nets, it's very difficult to practice; even in Australia, we don't practice the short-pitch balls. I feel if you practice the short ball all the time in the game, you would be tentative. It's a reaction skill and you have to remember that the bowlers are going to bowl only one short ball in this format and that's a good thing for the batsman," the Australian added.
Delhi Capitals will next take on Sunrisers Hyderabad on April 24.
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