Former Australian all-rounder Shane Watson said he was highly impressed with how Axar Patel delivered a remarkable performance and led his team, Delhi Capitals (DC), to yet another convincing win over Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in IPL 2025. At the BRSABV Ekana Stadium, Axar bowled his full quota of four overs early on, finishing with figures of 0/29. More importantly, his economy rate was better than that of Kuldeep Yadav, who, for the first time in IPL 2025, went wicketless.
With the bat, Axar provided the finishing touch by scoring an unbeaten 34 off 20 balls, helping DC successfully chase down 160 runs in 17.5 overs. This performance clearly made Axar a better captain than his LSG counterpart Rishabh Pant, who was dismissed for a duck after coming in to bat at number seven.
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Speaking on JioHotstar, Watson said, “The pitch got better for batting, but Axar Patel’s intent was clear right from the first ball. LSG didn’t bowl particularly well to him in the beginning, and he made the most of it. This was the kind of innings LSG needed from Rishabh Pant.”
Watson further added, “Axar stood up for his team, bowled four overs straight, led from the front, and made an impact. You can see that he genuinely wants to embrace the captaincy role — something we haven’t seen in Rishabh.”
Axar shared an unbeaten 56-run partnership with KL Rahul, who remained not out on 57 — his third half-century of the season. Facing LSG for the first time after being released by the franchise, Rahul also reached the 5000-run milestone in IPL, becoming the fastest player to do so (in 130 innings), and he sealed the win with a six.
Watson said, “KL Rahul did what he does best — batted with complete control. He didn’t need to take unnecessary risks; he just played with a steady hand and picked his moments. Most importantly, he has the ability to switch gears — he’s driven games forward throughout the tournament, but today he was calm, composed, and calculated. That kind of flexibility adds tremendous depth to Delhi Capitals.”
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