SRH vs DC: Sunrisers Hyderabad didn't just beat Delhi Capitals on Tuesday night; they completely blew them away. It was the kind of performance that left DC captain Axar Patel with nothing to do but stand back and give credit where it was due. Abhishek Sharma was the star of the show, finishing with an unbeaten century that was so dominant it made any talk of tactics feel pretty much irrelevant. With Travis Head, Ishan Kishan, and Heinrich Klaasen chipping in around him, it felt less like a pressure match and more like a batting masterclass under the Hyderabad lights.
The Delhi bowlers kept charging in, but the boundaries just wouldn’t stop. Speaking after the game, Axar didn't try to hide his frustration or blame his bowling unit. Instead, he pointed to two specific moments that could have flipped the game: a missed run-out and a dropped catch, both involving Abhishek. Had those chances been taken when the game was still tight, things might have looked very different.
What did Axar Patel say about the mistakes in the SRH vs DC IPL 2026 game?
Axar was also quick to distinguish between a fielding lapse and a bowling failure. He made it clear that when a guy is hitting the ball that well, there’s only so much a bowler can do. He praised Abhishek's timing, noting that the SRH opener didn't miss a single chance to punish them; no loose balls went unpunished, and he never let the pressure slip. When Klaasen started finding the ropes from the other end, it just made life even harder for a DC attack trying to find its rhythm.
It was the perspective of a veteran who knows when a game is simply out of your hands. He told his bowlers the same thing on the field, and that's stick to the plan, and if the batter still hits a great shot, you just have to live with it. For Axar, the worst thing you can do in those moments is overthink and freeze up.
The one thing that really bothered him, however, was the fielding. He made a point to separate it from the bowling, calling it a department that the team have total control over, regardless of the pitch or how well the opposition is playing. To him, backing up your bowler is the bare minimum, and DC let themselves down in that department on Monday.
“The run-out and the catch we missed - had we taken it, we could have restricted them,” Axar said in the post-match presentation.
“But yes, if someone bats that well, and their execution is not lacking, credit must be given for such a performance. Considering the way Klaasen also batted from the other side, it’s not the bowler’s fault. When a batsman bats like this, the coach and the captain must accept that even a captain cannot stop someone. I was telling the bowlers the same thing, that if you executed well, and after that he still hit a good shot, then you cannot do anything. You know, you have to move on.
“The fielding area is in your hands. Catching and run-outs - those you can do. And you know, at such times, supporting the bowler is very important. So I think that is where we could have done better.”
SRH’s total was just too much for the DC batters to chase down. While the loss hurts, Axar’s calm breakdown of the game suggests he’s not panicking; he’s already focused on tightening up the fielding before their next outing.
