Delhi Capitals (DC) captain Axar Patel pointed to “bad luck” and some hesitation as DC’s batting collapsed against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026.After the quick loss of wickets, Axar said no batter had time to settle, which turned the match in RCB’s favour.“I think because of what happened in the last game… there was some hesitation. Other than that, I think it was bad luck. No batter could really settle… we lost wickets in one or two balls,” Axar said.Delhi had scored 264 against Punjab Kings in their previous match but failed to defend it. Against RCB, they were reduced to six for eight, and the game was effectively over at that stage.Axar said the previous defeat against PBKS may have affected the team’s approach with the bat. He also said the pitch changed quickly. There was movement early, but it became easier once the new ball lost effect.“In the first over there was swing, later, once the ball got hit for a boundary, the swing reduced. But when you score 60–70, bowlers come in with that in the back of their mind,” he said.“The way we batted today, I would call it bad luck.” Axar said pressure is part of this stage of the tournament and the team has to deal with it.He also confirmed that Mitchell Starc has joined the squad and will be available after May 1, depending on workload.On giving a debut to Sahil Parakh, Axar said the decision was taken to have a left-right opening pair and based on the player’s form in training.Parakh was bowled by Bhuvneshwar Kumar with an in-swinging yorker on the second ball of the innings.“It was his first match. I cannot judge him on that. The way he has been batting, we believe he has potential,” Axar said.
