Shane Watson, a former allrounder for Australia, shared his thoughts on Axar Patel after he put in an impressive performance that helped the Delhi Capitals snag another win over the Lucknow Super Giants during IPL 2025. Watson specifically mentioned how Patel really stepped up at the Ekana Cricket Stadium. Axar bowled all four of his overs right at the start, finishing with figures of 0/29. While he didn’t take any wickets, he kept things tight and had a better economy rate than Kuldeep Yadav, who experienced a rare wicketless outing in this season.
When it came to batting, Axar didn’t disappoint either. He scored an unbeaten 34 runs off just 20 balls, helping lead the Capitals to victory in 17.5 overs while chasing down a target of 160. Watson pointed out that Axar clearly outperformed his opposite number, Rishabh Pant from LSG, who unfortunately went out for a duck after coming in at number seven.
Watson noted, “The pitch did get better for batting, but Axar’s positive mindset from the very first ball made a real difference. Early on, LSG didn’t bowl that well to him, and he took full advantage of it. That’s the sort of innings that Pant needed to deliver for his team.”
He highlighted how Axar really stepped up as a leader—he bowled his four overs consecutively and made an impactful contribution. “You can see how keen he is to play his part as captain. It’s something we haven’t always seen from Rishabh,” Watson commented during the game on JioHotstar.
Joining Axar on the batting front was KL Rahul, forming an unbroken partnership of 56 runs. Rahul scored 57 runs, marking his third fifty of the season. This was a special match for him as it was the first time he faced LSG since leaving the team under less-than-ideal circumstances. As a result of his innings, he also made history by being the quickest batter to reach 5000 runs in the IPL, getting there in only 130 innings. He finished off the winning chase with a six, showcasing his hitting skills once again.
Watson praised Rahul, saying, “KL just did what he knows best—batted with great control. He didn’t need to take risks and just picked the right moments to score. What’s impressive is his ability to switch between attacking and defensive play. He’s been aggressive throughout the tournament, but today he showed a lot of calmness and careful planning. That kind of versatility adds a lot of strength to the Delhi Capitals.”
Watson didn’t forget to highlight the performance of fast bowler Mukesh Kumar, who was crucial during the middle overs, finishing with figures of 4 wickets for 33 runs. His impressive yorker that took down Mitchell Marsh was a highlight of his spell. “Mukesh bowled exceptionally well. He really took advantage of the ball reversing early on. The yorker that got Marsh was particularly impressive. Marsh was playing well, so getting him out was a big win for Mukesh. He ran in with all his effort, targeting those key wickets during the middle overs.”
Former Indian cricketer Ambati Rayudu also weighed in on the innings played by Abishek Porel, who scored 51 runs—his first fifty of the season. Rayudu felt Porel should have been able to finish the chase strong. “Porel had a solid innings. At times he seemed a little out of control; there were a few shots that could have gone either way, but he managed to find the mark more often than not. Ideally, he should have been the one to carry on and finish the game, much like KL Rahul did. He has room to grow in his batting, focusing more on finding boundaries along the ground, similar to Sai Sudharsan. All in all, it was a fine performance.”
