IPL 2022: "Haath nahi chorhna, saath nahi chorhna" - Axar Patel, Lalit Yadav reveal on-field chats during miraculous partnership vs MI

When Axar Patel came in to bat in a tricky chase for Delhi Capitals against Mumbai Indians in IPL 2022 on Sunday, Lalit Yadav at the other end told him, "Haath nahi chorhna, saath nahi chorhna" (Don't leave my hand, don't leave my side).

Revealing the reason behind it, Lalit, who scored a match-winning 48 (38) from No. 5, said Patel had clarified his role to him before the match. He said the left-arm spinner told him they could win DC matches if they played together till the end.

In a candid chat with Axar on IPLT20.com, Lalit said:

"Yesterday, you told me before the match that... (laughs)... you told me my role. And our plan was only to take things to the end and that if we play together, we can win us the match."

Axar added:

"That's why when I came to bat you said to me, 'Haath nahi chorhna, saath nahi chorhna', right?"

DC lost six wickets and needed 74 runs in just over six overs when Axar, who hasn't had any meaningful contributions with the bat of late, strolled in as the last-recognized batter.

The duo indeed didn't leave each other's side as they smashed 75 runs off just 30 balls against MI's death bowlers with five sixes and five fours to take their IPL team home with 10 balls to spare. This meant that DC, lacking some of their key players in David Warner and Anrich Nortje, started their IPL 2022 schedule in emphatic fashion.

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"I wanted to delay the shots a bit" - Lalit Yadav to Axar Patel

Talking about his mindset when he came to bat in just the fifth over and saw wickets fall from the other end, Lalit said he wanted to 'delay' the attacking shots at the start. The 25-year-old added that he felt calmer as Shardul Thakur and Axar came in which allowed him to shift the momentum of the innings.

Lalit said:

"At the start, I wanted to delay the shots a bit and keep them for the last four-five overs. But wickets kept falling from the other end. Then I had a good partnership with Shardul bhai, I calmed down a bit. Then you came to bat and I calmed down further. From there on, everything went in our favor."

He even light-heartedly credited Axar for the late flourish, thanking the 28-year-old for keeping his confidence high. He said:

"Yes, the credit of this finish goes to Axar bhai. He made me very comfortable at the crease by saying 'There's no need to worry, you keep playing. We'll win the match from here.'"

Axar jokingly refuted it by saying:

"That's the role assigned to me (laughs) to keep the youngsters calm!"

The left-hander also thanked Lalit for the same support, saying his confidence rubbed off on him. Axar said:

"When I came to bat, obviously we had seven overs left. You were on the other end and I also knew the talk we had in the dressing room with Ricky (Ponting, Head Coach) and Rishabh (Pant, captain) about taking the game deep. You also said to me, 'Axar bhai, if we'll stay there till the end, we'll do it'. So you also kept me calm and confident and I also thought we can chase this down, let's take it as late as possible."

DC will now play against Gujarat Titans on Saturday, April 2, starting at 7:30 pm IST.