‘Batted with complete control’ – Shane Watson praises KL Rahul, Axar Patel after DC’s emphatic win against LSG

The Delhi Capitals (DC) won their sixth game of the season in Match No. 40 of the IPL 2025 against Lucknow Super Giants. Senior batter KL Rahul and skipper Axar Patel were the ones who provided the finishing touches in the game at the BRSABV Ekana Stadium, which resulted in an eight-wicket win for the visiting side.

Though it was Mukesh Kumar who was rightly adjudged the player of the match for his incredible four-wicket haul in the game, the efforts of KL Rahul and Axar Patel could not be ignored. The India duo made sure the side stayed till the end of the game, while Axar also delivered an extremely frugal spell with the ball. Axar could not take a wicket in his four overs, but kept the things tight at one end, which resulted in tumbling of wickets at the other.

While Rahul scored an impressive half-century, the DC skipper played a quick-fire knock of 34* off just 20 deliveries. Former DC assistant coach Shane Watson lauded the knocks of the two individuals as well, where he mentioned Rahul’s composed and calculative nature during the chase and praised Axar’s intent to chase down the score, comparing it to the likes of LSG captain Rishabh Pant.

“KL Rahul just did what he does best—batted with complete control. He didn’t need to take risks, just played a steady hand and picked his moments. What stands out is his ability to switch gears—he’s taken the game on throughout the tournament, but today he was calm, composed, and calculated. That kind of flexibility gives Delhi Capitals so much depth,” Watson said via JioHotstar.

“The pitch did get better to bat on, but it was Axar Patel’s intent from ball one that stood out. LSG didn’t bowl particularly well to him early on, but he capitalised. It was the kind of innings LSG needed from Rishabh Pant. Axar stood up for his team—bowled his four overs straight, led from the front, and made an impact. You can see he really wants to play his part as skipper—something we haven’t quite seen from Rishabh,” the two-time IPL winner added.

Speaking of the performance of both players, Rahul maintained his stat of being the highest run-scorer for the Delhi-based franchise in the current season. However, the biggest achievement for the Bengaluru-born was when he breached the 5000-run landmark in the league’s history. Not only that, but the star cricketer also became the fastest to the huge milestone, leaving behind David Warner.

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