IPL 2023, GT vs DC: Capitals mull Axar Patel's batting number ahead of must-win game against Titans

Gujarat Titans hosts Delhi Capitals on Tuesday, while the visitors have a headache with their middle-order, as they are mulling changing Axar Patel's batting number, having been the only middle-order batter to have fired.

Delhi Capitals (DC) will need its under-performing Indian batters to deliver when they take on the mighty and versatile defending champion Gujarat Titans (GT) in the 2023 Indian Premier League (IPL) at the iconic Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Tuesday. The abject failure of Prithvi Shaw and Sarfaraz Khan has contributed significantly to DC's travails this season as they find themselves in a do-or-die situation with six losses from eight games.

DC will probably need to win all its remaining six games to make the IPL playoffs, but considering the resources at its disposal, it looks implausible. Shaw's dismal run has allowed Phil Salt to open alongside David Warner. He was at his destructive best in the last game. The team would need him to be consistent alongside Warner and number three Mitchell Marsh, who finally played to his potential against former champion SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) with an all-round performance.

Delhi has been guilty of losing too many wickets in the middle overs, and it must address it going forward. Keeping the in-form Axar Patel for the death overs is understandable. Still, considering his dream run with the bat over the past 12 months in international cricket, Warner could push him to number five, if not higher.

Coming into the season as a replacement player, Priyam Garg has a much-needed opportunity and only has himself to blame if he cannot make it count. Veteran Manish Pandey can also do better at number four. The Indian bowlers in the side are not faring as poorly as the batters. Still, Mukesh Kumar can improve his economy rate, having conceded close to 11 runs per over in seven games.

Old horse Ishan Sharma has done his job in the three games he has been part of, while Anrich Nortje will be looking for wickets in the coming games. Delhi is in deep trouble, and they are up against an opponent in GT who has built a reputation for winning a game in any situation.

Chasing 180 against former two-time champion Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on Saturday, they were in a spot of bother but eventually got home with 13 balls to spare. Batting alongside David Miller, Vijay Shankar played one of his best IPL innings to take the team to its sixth win in eight games. The defending champion remains the team to beat this season.

Irish left-arm pacer Joshua Little is coming into his own after learning some harsh lessons in his debut season. In the spin department, they could always bank on Rashid Khan, but now they have another Afghanistan gem in Noor Ahmad, who has bagged eight wickets in four games with an impressive economy rate of 7.33.

Squads:
DC: David Warner (c), Prithvi Shaw, Sarfaraz Khan, Aman Hakim Khan, Abhishek Porel (wk), Axar Patel, Khaleel Ahmed, Kuldeep Yadav, Rovman Powell, Rilee Rossouw, Anrich Nortje, Mustafizur Rahaman, Chetan Sakariya, Mukesh Kumar, Phil Salt, Lungi Ngidi, Praveen Dubey, Lalit Yadav, Ripal Patel, Vicky Ostwal, Ishant Sharma, Manish Pandey, Kamlesh Nagarkoti and Yash Dhull.
GT: Hardik Pandya (c), Shubman Gill, David Miller, Abhinav Manohar, Sai Sudharsan, Wriddhiman Saha, Matthew Wade, Rashid Khan, Rahul Tewatia, Vijay Shankar, Mohammed Shami, Alzarri Joseph, Yash Dayal, Pradeep Sangwan, Darshan Nalkande, Jayant Yadav, R Sai Kishore, Noor Ahmad, Dasun Shanaka, Odean Smith, KS Bharat (wk), Shivam Mavi, Urvil Patel, Joshua Little and Mohit Sharma.

Match details
Date and day: May 2, 2023 (Tuesday)
Venue: Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad
Time: 7.30 PM (IST)
Where to watch (TV): Star Sports 1 and other Star Sports regional language channels - Also available in HD
Where to watch (Online): JioCinema