Delhi Capitals, led by Axar Patel, were dealt a heavy 47-run loss by Sunrisers Hyderabad in their IPL 2026 encounter on Tuesday. The match took place at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad, where Axar won the toss and chose to field first. Hyderabad then produced a dominant batting display, piling up 242 for 2 in their 20 overs.
Abhishek Sharma was the standout performer for SRH, smashing an unbeaten 135 to set the tone for the innings. Heinrich Klaasen and Travis Head also made useful contributions, each finishing with identical scores of 37. With such a steep target, Delhi’s chase never really caught fire and they ended on 195 for 9, despite Nitish Rana top-scoring with 57.
While Abhishek’s innings was sensational, the defeat also drew attention to Axar’s captaincy decisions. During SRH’s innings, Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav bowled two overs each, while Rana, used as a part-time spinner, was asked to bowl four overs.
The most questioned moment came in the 15th over of the SRH innings, when Rana was brought into the attack and promptly conceded 23 runs. Abhishek, already settled, punished him with three sixes and a boundary in the over. By the end of his spell, Rana had leaked 55 runs from his four overs and finished wicketless.
Krishnamachari Srikkanth later criticised Axar’s move, pointing out the imbalance of bowling usage. He stated that Axar Patel, who is both captain in this tournament and vice-captain of the T20 World Cup-winning side, had only bowled two overs. Srikkanth also questioned handing the 15th over to Rana while Abhishek was well set, adding that the presence of team analysts should not lead to such calls.
Srikkanth further argued that Axar and Kuldeep Yadav are international bowlers and part of the current India T20 World Cup-winning group, yet together they bowled only four overs. He said it was hard to justify introducing Rana suddenly and giving him a full four-over spell, calling the strategy “pure absurdity” and suggesting such decisions can drag a team down.
Looking at the bigger picture, Srikkanth said SRH are a team that naturally prefers batting first and building massive totals, describing it as their main strength. He believed Delhi should have changed approach after winning the toss, arguing that Axar ought to have opted to bat first rather than bowl.
“It was an absurd decision to win the toss and bowl first,” Srikkanth remarked. He compared it to “feeding SRH mango in the summer season,” and said the best way for teams to put pressure on the opposition is to win the toss and bat first, forcing the scoreboard to become a target for the chase.
