Karun Nair was dismissed on first ball of the match© BCCI/Sportzpics
The Delhi Capitals earned a point in the rain-hit Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 clash against Sunrisers Hyderabad as the entire second innings was washed out on Monday. The Axar Patel-led side, however, would be happy to have gained a point from a match which they failed to get a grip on since the first ball. Many were left surprised as DC decided to open with Karun Nair and Faf du Plessis. SRH skipper Pat Cummins got Nair caught behind on the first ball of the game, making the tourists regret the strategy instantly.
Former Chennai Super Kings all-rounder, Shane Watson, admitted being baffled by DC’s decision to alter their opening combination once again. Including Nair, now 5 different players have opened for the Delhi franchise this season – KL Rahul, Faf du Plessis, Abhishek Porel and Jake Fraser-McGurk.
“Something as simple as randomly changing the opening combination-for no apparent reason-was just not needed. I was genuinely surprised. I nearly fell off my chair when I saw Karun Nair walk out to open with Faf du Plessis. That move made no sense,” Watson said on Star Sports.
The former Australia all-rounder feels a lot of ‘overthinking’ is going on in the Delhi camp. He even questioned the lack of clarity in roles, especially in the wake of the bold Karun Nair call against SRH that backfire.
“Whatever the thinking was in the Delhi Capitals’ camp, I think they got that one completely wrong. When you start chopping and changing positions like that, it suggests there’s no clarity in roles. Even if players aren’t consciously overthinking, decisions like this can make them second-guess what’s going on,” he added.
Delhi are placed 5th in the points table at present, with 6 wins in 11 matches. With 13 points to their name, the franchise needs to win 2 of their remaining 3 games to seal a spot in the playoffs.
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