Did Axar make the wrong call with his death-over bowlers?

Axar Patel has earned plenty of praise for his captaincy in his debut IPL season, but did he slip up during Delhi Capitals’ (DC) clash against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) on Sunday night? As the game approached its final stages, RCB had the advantage, and analysts Anil Kumble, Wasim Jaffer, and Sanjay Bangar suggested that a different approach to DC’s death-over bowling might have made a difference.

When the 17th over began, RCB needed 38 runs off 24 balls — not an easy task on a tricky Delhi surface. Mukesh Kumar was given the ball and conceded 12 runs to Krunal Pandya and Virat Kohli. Dushmantha Chameera followed, giving away another nine. Then, in the 19th over, Mukesh was taken apart by Tim David, who smashed him for 6, 4, 4, 4 to effectively seal the match. Notably, Mitchell Starc still had an over left, and Vipraj Nigam had bowled just one.

"I don’t know what DC were thinking," Kumble said on ESPNcricinfo’s Time Out show. "When you have 18-19 runs to defend with two overs left, you give the 19th to your best bowler. I was surprised Mukesh bowled instead of Starc. Maybe the result would have been the same, but the intent was wrong."

The logic behind the decision might have been tied to Starc’s heroics against Rajasthan Royals (RR), where he defended nine runs in the final over.

"It might have been a hangover from that match," Bangar said. "Axar probably thought Starc could defend even fewer runs again. But the thought process was wrong. Starc should have bowled the 19th. Even if he went for 12, you had Vipraj Nigam — a spinner — for the last over. Spinners can produce magic under pressure."

Another question was whether Axar lacked faith in Vipraj Nigam. Despite being a newcomer, Nigam has performed decently with nine wickets and a 9.34 economy rate across nine games. However, he has bowled just 23 out of a possible 36 overs this season. The presence of the left-handed and in-form Krunal Pandya might have discouraged Axar from using Nigam at the death.

"I felt Axar didn’t trust Vipraj enough," Jaffer said. "Maybe giving him two-three overs earlier could have helped. If a wicket had fallen at that point, David and Shepherd — two overseas players — would have been under pressure. Jitesh was the only recognized batter left."

Fortunately for DC, the loss hasn’t derailed their playoff hopes. They remain fourth on the table with six wins from nine matches. Their next three games — against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), and Punjab Kings (PBKS) — are all against sides struggling for consistency. DC will fancy their chances to secure more wins before closing the league stage with tougher matches against Mumbai Indians (MI) and Gujarat Titans (GT).

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