IPL 2026: "Our fielding let us down", says Axar Patel after DC lost to CSK

The Chennai Super Kings beat the Delhi Capitals by 23 runs to get their first win of the season. CSK put on 212 at the end of their first innings and later defended it against the DC side.

CSK had lost their last six matches at home and broke that streak with their first win of the season. The 5-time champions move out of the bottom place in the league table and move to ninth place.

Losing captain Axar Patel was disappointed with his side`s fielding as they dropped a couple of catches. He further added that despite a strong start, they failed to keep the momentum and chase the total.

“I think we got off to a good start, but if we talk about the chase, after the powerplay we lost two or three wickets in quick succession, which broke the momentum. I feel the difference in fielding was the game-changing moment for me. And if you look at it, whenever wickets fell, they fell in pairs, which made things very difficult. Wickets kept falling in clusters, and that led to a drop in momentum. I think the batsmen did a decent job, but overall our fielding let us down, because if you look at it, chasing around 213–215 was pretty much possible. I would like to credit the bowlers, they did a very good job restricting the opposition to around 215–217. It was a very good batting wicket. But as I said, if we hadn’t dropped one or two catches in the field, the result could have been different. (Did the pitch slow down?) No, nothing really changed. I think it was tougher for them, maybe because of the dew and they bowled pretty well.” Axar Patel said.

CSK get their first win of the season

A Sanju Samson masterclass in the first innings and some disciplined bowling paved the way for CSK`s first win of the season. The 5-time champions started off their innings strongly with new signing Sanju Samson getting a much-needed century to kick start his CSK career.

Jamie Overton starred with the ball as he took 4 wickets for just 18 runs to take CSK to a 23-run victory against DC. With this win, CSK get their first point of the season and move out of the bottom place in the league table.