Axar Patel and Delhi Capitals had a terrible match at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad on April 21. Axar Patel’s team tactically outplayed the 25-year-old, who was simply trying to return to his best form on Tuesday, when they played against SunRisers Hyderabad.
SRH vs DC, IPL 2026: MAIN | SCORECARD
It was all about Abhishek Sharma and his willingness to stay at the crease which helped SRH achieved their third win in a row on Tuesday in the Indian Premier League. Abhishek outplayed, outthought and outplayed Delhi Capitals to score his second IPL hundred. Abhishek took 47 balls to reach his hundredwhich took SRH to their highest total of the season so far – 242/2, which eventually helped the hosts beat DC by a huge margin of 47 runs.
And for today’s IPL Play of the Day, we present the specific plan executed by Abhishek Sharma that helped SRH beat DC in their own game on Tuesday. Abhishek Sharma dismantles DC bowlers with ease (Courtesy: AP)
Before we get to what Abhishek Sharma did, we need to talk about the tactical approaches that teams use to limit swashbuckling batting. After all, T20 cricket is a game of bluff and double bluff. In Abhishek’s case, the plan is simple. Bring in the off-spinner, give Abhishek absolutely no pace and force him into a fake shot.
We saw this plan play out several times in the World Cup, so much so that poor Abhishek failed three times in three back-to-back games against the same plan. Pakistan discovered the method, the Netherlands used it and South Africa perfected the plan.
So it was no surprise that Delhi Capitals replaced fast bowler Auqib Nabi with all-rounder Nitish Rana in this match. Delhi are known for their spin-bowling prowess in the IPL, given the exceptional experience of Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav. Add Nitish Rana to the mix and you have a variety in your bowling attack that many would envy.
SRH vs DC: DELHI ATTACK ABHISHEK WITH SPIN
And so Delhi went to work, introducing Nitish Rana in the second over of the match, deflecting the ball away from Abhishek Sharma in the hope of clearing the batting.
The ploy worked and Rana frustrated Travishek with his slow repetitive deliveries, occasionally bowling the odd ball. DC conceded only 6 runs in the second over. Nitish bowls four overs for the second time in his career during an IPL game (Courtesy: AP)
As a result, Axar Patel licked his lips and delivered one more to Rana in the power bowl – the 5th over of the match.
what was the result
The wound was struck. Totally clubby. Three sixes outside off, two from Abhishek, one from Travis Head, a total of 20 runs in the 5th over.
You’d think Axar would have dropped the idea by now. He has already escaped 28 in 2 overs with Rana and just bowled himself and Kuldeep. But no. Axar and think tank Delhi decided to defeat Nitish for the third time, this time outside the powerplay (obviously).
Lo and behold, the plan worked. Abhishek didn’t try to attack Rana in the first half of the over and ended up mis-timing his final delivery. Rana went for just 6 runs in his third over.
It was almost like telling someone they were getting a second helping of Hyderabadi biriyani and Axar was tempted. Giving away just 6 runs against the Abhishek Sharma set was outstanding. His plan, the DC plan, had worked. The second ending was just a glitch.
Axar finally decided to bowl to Rana in his fourth and final over of the match – in the 15th. And my God, what a mistake!
You see, we here at India Today think that Abhishek Sharma bluffed Axar Patel to bowl all four overs of the Rana by deliberately playing him for two soft overs.
SRH vs DC: ABHISHEK BLUFFS DELHI CAPITAS
Rana’s final over, DC’s 15th, cost the team 23 runs. Had a straight drive from Abhishek not deflected off Rana’s hand and continued to hit the stumps to dismiss Kishan, the over would have cost more.
Abhishek hit Rana for three sixes and a four in that over to complete his hundred in 47 balls.
More importantly, Rana’s bowling meant that Axar and Kuldeep bowled only 2 overs each, leaving another 4 to bowl between them.
Rana finished with 4-0-55-0, his worst figures in the IPL, only because his captain was too greedy. Rana is a veteran of 10 years in the IPL and it was only once that he bowled his full quota of 4 overs in 2023. Even as a former KKR captain, he bowled more than one over only once. But today, somehow, inexplicably, Axar trusted him more.
Once the dust settles and the Delhi Capitals look at the scoreboard, they are likely to rethink the entire game.
Did they need more in the power play than just the one through Nitish Rana? Have they just been outdone by the 25-year-old in the IPL?
As DC prepare for their home stretch later in the week, they need to take a long, hard look at themselves. This is Indian Premier League and not an amateur tournament. Whoever is strategizing for the party needs to do better because this kind of amateur error just doesn’t happen anymore.
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Published on:
22 April 2026, 5:00 AM IST
