Captains Reflect on IPL Season: Delhi Capitals, KKR, and SRH

The captain of Delhi Capitals - Axar Patel says that it's a good feeling and they gave their best in the last game, though they haven't qualified for the playoffs. He says that they have to learn from their mistakes and they played well but things didn't go their way. He further says that this is a high-pressure tournament and as a captain you need to be in a good mindset. He reckons that he keeps his mind calm and ends by saying that SRH are playing good cricket and he feels they are a stronger side in the playoffs.

Let's now hear from Lungi Ngidi - Ngidi says it feels good to finish on a high after an up-and-down season overall. He adds that it makes it easier for them to look back and identify where things went wrong, and says the focus next season will be on minimising the small errors. On his slower ball, he says it has taken years to build the confidence to bowl it and that playing in certain conditions and doing well is what builds that confidence, pointing to the T20 World Cup as the moment that showed him he could do it. On carrying confidence from the World Cup into the IPL, he says playing in certain conditions and doing well builds confidence, drawing a parallel with batters who seem to find everything falling into place after one good knock. He says the World Cup showed him he could do it in these conditions and that he came into the IPL with heaps of confidence and continued from where he left off. On the team's season, he says there was a stage where it looked like they might scrape the bottom of the table and that pride became one of the biggest talking points, maintaining they were never a bottom of the table side on paper. He says some of their performances made them think that doing a few things better might have put them in the playoffs, and that he is happy to end on this note. When asked about Starc's fielding and its effect on the group, he says the pacer is making them all step their game up and calls him an absolute athlete, having watched him run from long on to long on throughout a game and still come back to bowl 140 kph yorkers. He says playing alongside another international player of that quality gives him an extra level of confidence and that seeing Starc do that puts a big smile on his face.

The skipper of Kolkata Knight Riders - Ajinkya Rahane says that they needed one batter to go big and he took his chances. He says that they have had a disappointing season but they had many positives and he is proud of each and every individual in their team. He reckons that they didn't qualify and the season didn't go their way but their side gave it all. On what happens after the season ends, he says the guys have their commitments and will head home, take some time off and then connect over calls to have discussions moving forward. On his personal plans after the IPL, he says it is just a couple of days off before he heads back to play his local league in Mumbai, something he is really looking forward to. He says he is happy as long as he is playing cricket and that it will be a couple of days off and then back to it.

STRATEGIC BREAK! Time for the final break in the league stage of this season. Delhi Capitals have made massive inroads in this middle over phase with Kuldeep Yadav turning the screws on. KKR have lost most of their trusted batters in the slide from 96/2 to 129/6. They still require 62 runs from 24 balls with the last recognised batting pair in the middle. Though it's doable, but both of these batters will have to bat till the end. Powell is capable and everyone knows his might and that's the wicket DC would be aiming for to slam the door shut. Lungi Ngidi is back on. 2-0-12-2 so far are his bowling figures.