Axar Patel backs SRH to win IPL 2026 title: This top 3 is formidable

Delhi Capitals captain Axar Patel has backed SunRisers Hyderabad to win the Indian Premier League title this year. After the last game of the season in the league stage, Axar said that SRH’s explosive top-order makes them one of the most dangerous teams in the competition and warned that they will be hard to stop if their batting fires in the playoffs.

SunRisers Hyderabad have sealed qualification for the playoffs with an impressive 55-run victory over Royal Challengers Bengaluru in their last match of the league stage. Against the table-toppers at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad, SRH produced one of their most complete performances of the season to finish third in the table.

SRH will now face Rajasthan Royals in the Eliminator on May 27 at the Mullanpur Stadium in New Chandigarh.

“I think SRH is a strong team. When their first three scores come up, they look like a formidable unit,” Axar Patel told a television station after Delhi Capitals’ match against Kolkata Knight Riders.

A SEASON OF LEARNING FOR AXAR PATELA

Delhi Capitals finished IPL 2026 in sixth place with 14 points from 14 matches. The side suffered a major slump midway through the tournament and failed to recover in time to stay alive in the play-off race.

Although Delhi won their last three matches of the season to end on a positive note, it was not enough to make it into the top four and extend their playoff drought to five consecutive years.

Reflecting on the campaign, Axar admitted that Delhi failed to capitalize on key moments during the tournament.

“You have to accept your mistakes and then you can realize what else you can do. One game here or there is fine. We played good cricket but if we had seized the key moments in one or two games, things would have been different,” Axar said.

Delhi particularly struggled in the middle stages of the tournament, losing back-to-back matches against Punjab Kings and Royal Challengers Bengaluru. Their lapses in the field and their inability to close out crunch moments repeatedly cost them valuable points.

One of the defining moments of their season came against Gujarat Titans when DC failed to chase down a modest target after David Miller dismisses Kuldeep Yadav’s strike in the final match.

These moments gradually dented Delhi’s confidence and the team was eventually eliminated before the last league game.

“I learned a lot about myself. It’s a high-pressure tournament and you have to take care of everyone. You have to be in a good frame of mind because if you’re not, you get frustrated and make bad calls. I try to stay calm. Even when I’m frustrated, I try to calm myself and then keep others calm,” concluded Axar.

RCB, Gujarat Titans, SunRisers Hyderabad and Rajasthan Royals have qualified for the playoffs this season. While RCB will face Gujarat Titans in Qualifier 1, SRH will face Rajasthan Royals in the Eliminator. The winner of the Eliminator will face the loser of Qualifier 1 in Qualifier 2, with the winner of that encounter advancing to the finals at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on 31 May.

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Issued by:

sabyasachi chowdhury

Published on:

25 May 2026 10:23 IST

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