'We perhaps got too casual': Axar Patel reflects on Delhi Capitals’ loss to Mumbai Indians

NEW DELHI: Delhi Capitals’ skipper Axar Patel has admitted that complacency might have crept into the team during their 12-run loss to Mumbai Indians, which ended their winning streak in IPL 2025. The Capitals, riding high on four successive wins, stumbled at home in their chase of a daunting 206-run target set by MI.
Speaking at the toss ahead of DC’s clash against Rajasthan Royals on Wednesday, Axar said the team had identified the middle phase of the innings as a concern.
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“Last game also we did well chasing, just a matter of a couple of overs here and there going in our favour. Need to look past the last game, but it is a learning experience. We discussed in the team meetings how we could have finished the game, we perhaps got too casual in the middle phase,” he said.

Delhi opted to go unchanged for the match, with Axar expressing readiness to bat first despite losing the toss. “Would have bowled as well. There will be dew perhaps in the second innings, but now we are ready to bat first and put up a big score,” he added.
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Rajasthan Royals captain Sanju Samson, who also named an unchanged XI, won the toss and chose to field. “We'll bowl first, looks like a good wicket. Gets better in the second half… It is a competitive league, so we need to look past results sometimes,” said Samson.
The match marks DC’s second game at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, where they’ll look to bounce back from their first defeat.

Teams:
Rajasthan Royals (Playing XI): Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson(w/c), Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel, Shimron Hetmyer, Nitish Rana, Wanindu Hasaranga, Jofra Archer, Maheesh Theekshana, Sandeep Sharma, Tushar Deshpande
Delhi Capitals (Playing XI): Jake Fraser-McGurk, Abishek Porel, Karun Nair, KL Rahul(w), Axar Patel(c), Tristan Stubbs, Ashutosh Sharma, Vipraj Nigam, Mitchell Starc, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohit Sharma