Great to play in front of our fans after a long time,’ says Delhi Capitals’ Axar Patel

The Delhi Capitals fought their hearts out, but went down by six wickets against Gujarat Titans in the TATA IPL 2023 at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi on Tuesday. The Gujarat Titans restricted the Delhi side to 162/8 in their 20 overs before chasing down the total in 18.1 overs.

Speaking about playing at Delhi Capitals’ home ground for the first time in four years, the DC Vice-Captain Axar Patel said, “It was disappointing to be on the wrong side of the result. But, it was great to play in front of our fans after a long time. I hope the fans enjoyed the game. Hopefully, we’ll perform well in the rest of our home games.”

Axar added that the Delhi side will take some time to gel together as a unit, “It’s still early days in the tournament. I don’t think we need to work on too many aspects of our game. We are playing together after a long time so we’ll take some time to gel together as a unit. Once our combinations start working, then it’ll get better for us.”

When asked about his one-handed six, the all-rounder said, “I didn’t plan the one-handed six. My bottom hand came off when I tried to extend my arms. Fortunately, I hit that ball for a six. And then I told Rishabh that the one-handed shot was for him. I was quite happy with my batting performance and I hope that I can keep performing well for Delhi Capitals.”

Axar also spoke about meeting Rishabh Pant in the dressing room, “It was great to meet Rishabh in the dressing room. Players from the Gujarat team also came to meet him. Hopefully, he recovers soon and comes back to Qila Kotla. Then both of us can play one-handed shots.”

The Delhi Capitals will take on Rajasthan Royals in their next match at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium, Guwahati on Saturday.