Follow UsKolkata Knight Riders defeated Delhi Capitals by 14 runs in a game that DC would regret losing after being 130/3 in the 13th over chasing 205.
Skipper Axar Patel (43 off 23) and Faf du Plessis (62 off 45) tried their best but they needed more support from other batters. In fact, Patel played his innings with the skin of his palm peeled off after he injured himself by dragging his hand on the ground in the last over of the first innings.
Speaking after the game, Patel, who bowled his four overs for 2/27, mentioned that while the bowlers gave 15-20 runs extra, the batters in the middle order needed to stay a bit longer and finish the chase to stop DC having their third defeat in four games.
“The way we bowled in the powerplay, thought we gave 15-20 too many,” the all-rounder said.
“In the chase, there were some miscalculations and soft dismissals. The way we restricted them after the power play was good. The way we batted, even if two or three batters did well, we lost by very little.
“When you lose close matches, you know you have to be calm in the middle. When Vipraj was scoring runs, we had hopes. If Ashutosh had stayed, it would have helped. Luck sometimes works in your favour and sometimes against.”
Patel also said that since there is some gap before their next game, he expects his palm to heal by then.
“My hand dragged on the surface, so the skin peeled off. So whenever I tried batting, it was paining. We have three-four days gap before SRH game, so I hope to recover,” the DC skipper said.
DC will play their next game on May 5 against the Sunrisers Hyderabad in Hyderabad.