"Had ordered a coffee and left that glass like that only" - Axar Patel on coming to bat for DC at 62/5 vs SRH

Delhi Capitals all-rounder Axar Patel admitted that he wasn't expecting to come out to the crease when DC suddenly lost three wickets in the eighth over against the Sunrisers Hyderabad. The Capitals registered a seven-run win in match No.34 at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad on Monday (April 24).

Capitals skipper David Warner won the toss and elected to bat first on his former home-ground in the IPL. A brilliant spell from SRH off-spinner Washington Sundar inflicted a mini-collapse in the DC batting line-up.

Sundar picked up the wickets of Warner, Sarfaraz Khan and Aman Hakim Khan to reduce the Capitals to 62 for 5 after eight overs. Axar Patel joined Manish Pandey at the crease and the duo rebuilt their team's innings with a determined 69-run stand.

Axar scored a run-a-ball 34 to help the Capitals post a total of 144/9 after 20 overs. In the second innings, the left-arm spinner picked up the wickets of Mayank Agarwal and Aiden Markram in a spell of 2/21 from four overs to bag the player of the match award.

Speaking to the official broadcaster at the post-match presentation ceremony, Axar Patel said:

"I wasn't aware of what happened in the middle. I had ordered a coffee and I left that glass of coffee like that only as I got to know that three wickets fell in an over."

Axar further spoke about the conversation between him and Manish Pandey when he arrived at the crease. He added:

"Pandey told me that the more we can take this till deep, it will be good. Because if we had runs then we could give them some fight (while defending)."

"Had fun with the way me and Kuldeep bowled" - Axar Patel

Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav dried up the runs for the Sunrisers batters in the middle after Mayank Agarwal (49) gave the home side a positive start in the powerplay.

The Orange Army made 53 runs from overs 7 to 15 and lost four wickets, with Axar and Kuldeep responsible for three of those.

Speaking about his tight spell alongside Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel said:

"It was a little slow and the ball was stopping. Kuldeep and I bowled like this as a partnership in Delhi as well. I had fun with the way me and Kuldeep bowled."

Delhi Capitals will once again meet the Sunrisers Hyderabad in their next game at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi on Saturday, April 29.