Delhi Capitals’ skipper Axar Patel, playing his 100th game for the franchise, won the toss and chose to bowl first against Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad. Sunrisers Hyderabad made a change, bringing in Nitish Rana for Auqib Nabi, with Ishan Kishan noting the slower pitch conditions. Harsh Dubey and Dilshan Madushanka also joined the team, replacing Praful Hinge and potentially Liam Livingstone to adapt to the playing conditions.
Axar Patel expressed gratitude for reaching the milestone of 100 IPL matches, emphasizing the importance of team balance and flexibility in squad selection based on the pitch conditions. He mentioned the inclusion of Nitish Rana in the playing XI. Sunrisers Hyderabad’s captain, Ishan Kishan, highlighted the challenge of adapting to the changing pitch conditions and the team’s strategy to include wicket-taking options with spin.
The playing XIs for the match were confirmed, with Delhi Capitals fielding KL Rahul, Pathum Nissanka, Sameer Rizvi, Axar Patel, David Miller, Tristan Stubbs, Nitish Rana, Lungi Ngidi, Kuldeep Yadav, T Natarajan, and Mukesh Kumar. Sunrisers Hyderabad’s lineup included Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, Ishan Kishan, Heinrich Klaasen, Salil Arora, Aniket Verma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Shivang Kumar, Harsh Dubey, Sakib Hussain, and Eshan Malinga.
