David Warner, on Tuesday, scored another fifty, his third of the season, but again in an underwhelming manner. Warner scored 51 from 47 balls with a strike rate of 108.51, and his struggle to up the tempo has cost Delhi Capitals at least 20 runs and the match as well.
Delhi Capitals all-rounder Axar Patel, who scored a contrasting fifty (54 off 25 balls) denied that Warner has been given the role of “sheet anchor,” and the coaches of Delhi Capitals have reminded their skipper about the low strike rate.
“He has not been given the sheet anchor role. Ricky (Ponting), Dada (Sourav Ganguly), Pravin (Amre) sir, Watto (Shane Watson), everyone is having constant talks with Warner about his strike rate,” Axar told reporters.
Axar also sympathises with his skipper saying,” Wo try bhi kar raha hai but usse lag nahi raha (He is trying really hard but he is just not able to hit it properly)”.
With four consecutive losses, the David Warner-led side is already looking among the wooden spooners in this year’s competition.
Axar, who is also Delhi’s vice-captain, said frequent chopping and changes have also not helped Delhi.
“Changes in combination is not helping us,” he said.
Axar, who is batting at No 7 is not keen to bat up the order as he has been given the role of a finisher by the team management.
“Mujhe same hi lag raha, up batting karu ya neeche mai bhi 10-12 over khel hi raha hun (I am also playing 10-12 overs even if I am batting lower down the order, the situation for me is more or less the same),” he said.
“If I will bat higher, then who will finish the game and what if I fall cheaply? This is a double edge sword, I think I am doing well at No 7 and my role is also to finish the game,” he added.
After Axar got out, Delhi Capitals managed only six runs, lost their remaining four wickets, and even failed to bat through their full quota. The Southpaw takes the blame on himself for not being able to bat through the innings.
“I was also at fault. There were ten more balls left. I could have been more careful and added a few more runs to our total. It was the first ball and I thought if I connected it, the bowler will come under pressure,” he explained.
“The rest of the batters, even if they managed to score singles of all the balls, the result would have been different. These losses hurt you the more,” he said.
The all-rounder also revealed that since he is doing well in bowling, he is making an extra effort.
“I am not batting much in the nets. The most I am doing is knocking, I am focussing on bowling more.
“Batting acha chal raha mai jyada uspe cher char nahi kar raha (Batting is going really well, and I want to keep it like this, so I am not trying much),” he said.
Get latest updates on IPL 2025 from IPL Points Table to Teams, Schedule, Most Runs and Most Wickets along with live cricket score updates for all matches. Also get Sports news and more cricket updates.
