Sunrisers Hyderabad captain Aiden Markram on April 24 questioned their intent as they cut a sorry figure chasing a modest 145 to endure a third defeat on the trot in the IPL in Hyderabad.
Washington Sundar’s all-round show - 3/28 and 15-ball 24 not out - was not enough as DC strangulated SRH batters to eke out a narrow seven-run win, their second in a row.
"(We were) not good with the bat again, not enough intent. We looked (like) a team that was not excited to win a game of cricket unfortunately,” Markram said at the presentation ceremony.
“We'll have to go back to look how we can chase better, be more free as a team and as a unit and hopefully that can help us going forward.
"It's difficult. You can say all the right things but ultimately guys need to buy into it. We want to play a certain brand of cricket and if we get it wrong doing that then we'll sleep a lot better at night,” he said.
"We've got really good players and really good batters and unfortunately I think we're just letting ourselves down through lack of intent.
"Guys need to work out what brings out the best in them and makes them the most free to play. Our bowlers didn't deserve to be on the losing side like this,” he said.
Delhi Capitals’ all-rounder Axar Patel, who was adjudged Player-of-the-Match for his 34 in the first innings followed by two crucial wickets in the second, said he felt confident after the contribution in the first half.
“Two for 21 since I scored 34 in 34 so the two wickets were more important,” he said.
“(Manish) Pandey and I discussed we needed to take it as deep as possible. (On the surface) It was slow, the ball was coming off slowly. I felt that Kuldeep (Yadav) and I could tie up the batters on this surface, so it was enjoyable,” Patel said.
Warner all-praise for Ishant
Delhi Capitals skipper David Warner praised Ishant Sharma for his fine spell of 3-0-18-1 and Mukesh Kumar for defending 13 runs in the final over.
“The game throws us challenges, for us, it's great to get two points. Mukesh under pressure was amazing. Well done to him and the two spinners (Axar and Kuldeep), they've been our rock. These two are experienced bowlers, they are never going to let you down,” Warner said.
“From day one, he (Ishant) kept on telling me that he was ready. Unfortunately he was sick a few games before, but credit to him. He's worked very hard to get back into the IPL.
"To get an opportunity and to bowl upfront like he has, that's exceptional. We spoke about it at the end of 0 (wins) out of 5 (games), that teams have won before from there. Hopefully we can make it three in a row. We've got back-to-back games against Sunrisers, so we have to start again,” Warner added.
