We missed Axar badly, says Faf du Plessis

I think we missed especially Axar on a wicket like that. Axar is that kind of class bowler, international, proven left-arm spinner that on a wicket like that, he would love to bowl in it, he said

HYDERABAD: Faf du Plessis, captain of Delhi Capitals which was knocked out of contention for a place in the play-offs after losing to Mumbai Indians in the IPL league match in Mumbai on Wednesday night, said the team lost momentum in the last two overs when Mumbai were batting after they bowled well for 18 overs.

“I thought we were excellent today in the field. The guys showed great fight. Obviously, not the easiest pitch to bat on, so it probably made the bowlers’ job a little bit easier. But still, it’s a very strong batting line-up (of MI), and I thought we were excellent,” du Plessis said in the post-match briefing.

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“And then [we] just let it slip there in the last two overs which… momentum is a real thing in cricket. So I thought the way that they counterpunched there to get almost 50 in the last two overs really cost us the game,” he said.

“Yeah, I think we missed especially Axar on a wicket like that. If you look at the way that Mitch Santner bowled, they’re very similar bowlers. Axar is that kind of class bowler, international, proven left-arm spinner that on a wicket like that, he would love to bowl in it. But unfortunately, he was very, very sick the last two days. We also missed Starcy (Mitchell Starc) who is a fantastic bowler,” he added.

“With the bat, you would need a good start on a surface like that, and we didn’t get going at all with the bat. So it sums up pretty much our season. We’ve been cold in either batting or bowling in the last six or seven games,” du Plesis said.

“And to be in the top four in the IPL, you can’t afford to do that. So probably a fair reflection not to make that top four,” he said.