Starc’s fifer and du Plessis’ fireworks headline Delhi’s all-round show as Abishek Porel praises Axar Patel’s captaincy and KL Rahul’s mentorship
Visakhapatnam, March 31: The Delhi Capitals (DC) continued their unbeaten run in IPL 2025 with a commanding seven-wicket victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at Visakhapatnam on Sunday, showcasing a complete team performance with both ball and bat.
Opting to bat first, SRH struggled to build momentum as Mitchell Starc tore through their batting lineup with a fiery five-wicket haul, while Kuldeep Yadav chipped in with three crucial wickets. Delhi bundled out Hyderabad for 163 in 18.4 overs, setting up a manageable chase.
In reply, DC’s top order clicked in unison. Faf du Plessis hammered a blazing half-century, supported by Jake Fraser-McGurk (38 off 32) and KL Rahul (15 off 5). Later, Abishek Porel (34* off 18) and Tristan Stubbs (21 off 14)* finished the job with ease, chasing down the target with four overs to spare.
Porel, who played a match-winning cameo, praised the team effort in the post-match press conference.
“It was a great team effort. Starc bowled really well, Faf gave us a flying start, and everyone chipped in. Jake paced his innings perfectly and Stubbs finished it off smoothly.”
Speaking about playing under Axar Patel, Delhi’s new skipper, Porel added, “Off the field, Axar is very funny, but on the field, he’s fully focused and very motivating. His captaincy has been spot on so far.”
The young wicketkeeper-batter also opened up about his rapport with KL Rahul.
“KL bhai is like an elder brother. When I dropped a catch, he consoled me and told me to focus on my batting. He gave me the confidence to go out and play my strokes freely.”
With two convincing wins under their belt, Delhi Capitals now head to Chennai to face Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on April 5, riding high on confidence and team cohesion.