Former India player turned veteran commentator Aakash Chopra has praised Axar Patel’s captaincy in the Delhi Capitals’ (DC) win against the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG). He also added that the DC captain made great plans to dismiss Nicholas Pooran, the ‘game-changer’ in the LSG lineup as well.
In a video shared on his YouTube channel ‘Aakash Chopra’, he said, “Axar Patel, what a captain. He came with great planning. It wouldn’t have been him alone. Hemang Badani’s brain would have also been involved. They said they would start with left-arm spin. Mitchell Starc would start from one end for sure, but Axar could bowl four overs from the other end. When Pooran came, Mitchell Starc from one end and Kuldeep Yadav from the other end. Let’s go hard at him because he is the game-changer. So they stopped that game-changer. Kuldeep and Starc’s numbers against Pooran have been very good. The match-ups couldn’t have been better.”
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He also stated that Axar Patel’s decision to hold Mitchell Starc and Kuldeep Yadav back for Pooran yielded the desired results when the
Starc dismissed him as well.
“I was thinking that they were getting hit and no wickets had fallen, and they should get them to bowl. However, he said he would wait for the right moment. Mitchell Starc came and dismissed Pooran. Of course, it wasn’t a good day for Kuldeep Yadav. He didn’t get wickets, but he (Axar) got what he wanted, and it’s not the first time. Axar Patel has managed this team very well many times,” Chopra shared again.
While talking about the Delhi Capitals’ chase in their IPL 2025 away game against the LSG, Aakash Chopra also praised Abishek Porel (51 off 36) for playing a key role as well.
“When it was the turn to bat, Jake Fraser-McGurk wasn’t doing well, and Faf (Du Plessis) isn’t fit, so they left both out. They said they would play with Indians and manage. Firstly, Porel played well. He is actually a very, very decent player. All of us know that. Karun Nair got a good start, and then how well is KL Rahul batting. He is batting differently. It seems like he is a man on a mission. He is going everywhere, went to Bengaluru, then came here, and is saying that he is there. Axar Patel’s contribution has been extremely impressive and incredible because he also scored runs,” Aakash Chopra concluded.
