Despite securing a hard-fought win against the Punjab Kings, Delhi Capitals skipper Axar Patel was involved in a bizarre controversy over a dropped catch.
Nevertheless, the DC captain found his form, scoring 56 runs off 30 balls, which helped his side to a three-wicket win.
It has not been the kind of season DC would have hoped for, especially with a squad that boasts the likes of players like KL Rahul, Mitchell Starc, Kuldeep Yadav, and several others. The Capitals, however, kept their play-off hopes alive, as they successfully chased down a 211-run target in 19 overs against the Punjab Kings. PBKS put up a massive 210/4, guided by Shreyas Iyer's 59 off 36, Priyansh Arya's 56 off 33, Cooper Connolly's 38 off 27, and Suryansh Shedge's 21 off 8.
DC got off to the worst possible start, losing opener KL Rahul and Abhishek Porel by the 3rd over. They were reduced to 74/4 until a 64-run stand between David Miller and Axar Patel took them close. While Patel hit his maiden fifty of the season, the South African scored 51 off 28 balls. Miller's wicket put the pressure back on DC, who still needed 41 off 21 balls. Ashutosh Sharma (24 off 10) and Madhav Tiwari's (18* off 8) late blitz, however, saw Delhi over the line, with an over to spare.
Axar Patel, however, faced criticism for an incident during the first innings. While he did not bowl a single over, while fielding for the team, he was unfortunately captured by fans intentionally dropping a catch, as early as the 2nd over. A video that has now gone viral showed the 32-year-old not raising his hands to catch hold of the ball, despite it being the prized wicket of Priyansh Arya, who went on to hit a fifty.
Fans were stunned, debating whether the Delhi Capitals skipper had a 'brain-fade' or if his actions were part of a 'scripted' arrangement. All of those claims were later debunked by fact checkers, who revealed that the delivery was, in fact, a free hit.
Since Auqib Nabi had overstepped on the third ball of the 2nd over, Priyansh Arya was free to attempt a big shot. Arya mis-hit the ball towards Patel at mid-off, who consequently made no attempt to catch it.
Had Axar Patel even completed the catch, Arya would have still remained not-out. Nonetheless, Patel and his team will be looking to keep their momentum going and win their last two matches in the final stages of IPL 2026 to make it to 14 points.
DC skipper Axar Patel had a night to remember, as he guided his team to a win in a closely-contested encounter against Punjab Kings, in Dharamshala. Patel, however, faced 'match-fixing' accusations from fans over a dropped catch during the first innings.
In a viral clip, the 32-year-old all-rounder was seen unexpectedly leaving a catch at mid-off, despite being among the reputed fielders in the country. The incident triggered match-fixing speculation among fans, who suggested the Gujarat-born cricketer might have been 'paid' to deliberately miss the ball. Fans were shocked by Patel's visible lack of effort, with some even suggesting the IPL is 'scripted'.
Some other fans claimed that the match was a 'fishy' affair, given that PBKS also let go of opportunities on the field during the second innings. A few of the fans exclaimed that the missed catch was a result of Axar Patel's lean form in the IPL. However, only after it came to light that it was a free hit when Patel missed the catch, did the criticism end, with fans calling out the error.
Nonetheless, Patel's half-century proved to be the turning point of DC's chase against PBKS, after a top-order collapse. The 32-year-old will now be expected to remain in form when Delhi Capitals take on Rajasthan Royals on May 17.
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