Delhi Capitals were dealt a heavy blow in IPL 2026 as they conceded their highest-ever league total in the competition, posting 242 runs against Sunrisers Hyderabad after Abhishek Sharma’s ruthless batting display. Abhishek remained unbeaten on 135, taking the attack all the way through the full 20 overs, but DC’s reply could not keep pace and they were eventually restricted to 195/9—handing SRH a comfortable 47-run win.
Abhishek Sharma’s unbeaten 135 sets a huge target
- SRH built their innings around Abhishek Sharma, who struck 10 fours and 10 sixes in his 68-ball masterclass.
- Abhishek finished not out on 135, ensuring SRH reached a commanding total of 242/2.
- Travis Head contributed 37, while Heinrich Klaasen added 37 not out off 13 balls to keep the scoreboard moving.
Delhi’s chase starts well but falls away
- In reply, Delhi Capitals got off to a promising start through a partnership featuring KL Rahul’s 37 and Nitish Rana’s 57.
- After those early contributions, DC lost momentum and wickets began to arrive at crucial moments.
- Eshan Malinga delivered the key impact spell, taking 4/32 to help restrict the chase.
- Delhi were eventually bowled out for 195/9, leaving them short by 47 runs.
Aaron Finch questions Axar Patel’s bowling choices
After the defeat, former Australia captain Aaron Finch openly criticised Delhi’s bowling plan, focusing on Axar Patel’s use of overs and the decision to hand a full quota to part-time bowler Nitish Rana. Finch argued that the captain and senior spinners should have done more work, pointing to Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav bowling only four overs between them, while Rana completed his four-over spell.
Finch said: “We’ve been sitting there scratching our heads, haven’t we? Your two Indian premier spin bowlers, Axar Patel, the skipper, and Kuldeep Yadav, bowled four overs between them. A part-time offspinner in Nitish Rana has wheeled out four overs. To me, that makes no sense.”
He also questioned Axar’s reluctance to bowl to left-handers even after removing Travis Head, suggesting the problem lies in how the captain approaches matchups under pressure.
Finch added: “It’s the responsibility of your captain, your senior player, your retained player, your best bowler, an Indian bowler, he’s one of your core bowlers in the Indian cricket team. That’s no small bit. He’s a double World Cup winner. So the fact that he doesn’t trust himself to execute under pressure and to defend himself against any left handers, as soon as a left hander walks to the crease, not for me today, thanks. To me, that says more about his attitude towards it than anything else.”
Ashwin joins the criticism over Nitish Rana’s overs
Ravichandran Ashwin also weighed in, calling out the overuse of part-time bowler Nitish Rana. He noted that in DC’s bowling group—featuring Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Lungi, Mukesh, and Natarajan—Rana was the first to complete his four-over quota, which Ashwin described as a major error in their execution.
Ashwin said on his YouTube channel Ash Ki Baat: “In DC’s bowling attack, they have Axar Patel, Kuldeep, Lungi, Mukesh, and Natarajan. But the first player to complete their 4-over quota was Nitish Rana, and that’s where they lost the match. It has to be the biggest blunder so far.”
