Delhi Capitals skipper Axar Patel’s choice to bat first on a difficult pitch, compounded by windy conditions, backfired early as Chennai Super Kings kept the hosts to a mere 37 runs in the opening six overs and struck twice. The decision drew sharp questioning from former Australia captain Aaron Finch, who could not understand why Delhi would take that route after weighing up what the conditions and recent trends suggested.
Quick facts
- Axar Patel opted to bat first after winning the toss for Delhi Capitals.
- Chennai Super Kings limited Delhi to 37 runs in the first 6 overs.
- CSK also took 2 wickets during that powerplay period.
- Aaron Finch criticised the call to bat first, saying it made no sense given available information and past batting-first outcomes.
- Finch said several Delhi decisions during IPL 2026 have left him and other pundits puzzled.
- Finch noted Axar’s captaincy has faced repeated criticism since the season began.
Finch’s concerns were not limited to this single match. In an analysis segment, he said that a number of decisions made by Delhi during IPL 2026 have left him and other commentators scratching their heads, with the toss call versus CSK on Tuesday standing out as one example.
“Absolutely, it was a big mess up. You can’t sugarcoat it,” Finch said, explaining that with the right information at hand, the strategy should have been clearer. He pointed out that the pattern of results—specifically that Delhi had not been successful when batting first—made the decision hard to justify.
Finch also addressed the broader scrutiny surrounding Axar’s leadership. He suggested that the criticism has been building since the start of the season, whether it has come through squad selection, omissions, or on-field calls, arguing that the all-rounder has not been able to fully match the confidence shown by the management.
While Finch said he can understand instinct-driven choices made during a game and even acknowledge that poor execution can happen—since winning and losing are part of cricket—he underlined that repeated “black-and-white” decision errors are where the worry lies. “But when you are making black-and-white decisions wrong time and time again, that’s a concern,” he added.
Toss calls and captain’s logic
At the toss, Axar decided to bat first, with the expectation that the early phase of the pitch would assist batters and that conditions might become more difficult later in the innings. However, CSK captain Ruturaj Gaikwad was pleased to bowl first, indicating that if he had won the toss, he would have chosen the same plan in order to pressure Delhi early.
Gaikwad said the surface looked favourable for batting, but he felt it could slow down in the second innings. With that in mind, he wanted to hand the advantage to his bowlers by setting up a contest that would get progressively tougher for the chasing side.
