DC's opener, David Warner and Prithvi Shaw
DC's opener, David Warner and Prithvi Shaw. Image Credits: Twitter

Former Indian cricketer, Aakash Chopra has passed his verdict on Delhi Capitals’ (DC) loss in their first match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG). He thinks Delhi’s batting looked weak despite their skipper, David Warner scoring valuable runs in the game.

While, Warner has been appointed skipper for the 16th edition of IPL in place of Rishabh Pant, the star Indian wicketkeeper-batter is the regular captain of the Delhi-based franchise, he is unavailable after a horrific road accident on the Delhi-Dehradun highway.

David Warner
David Warner. Image Credits: Twitter

Aakash Chopra reckons Delhi Capitals batting is highly dependent on top order-

“The batting looked weak despite David Warner scoring runs. You played four overseas batters. The day Anrich Nortje comes, you will have to make one of them sit out and get Manish Pandey in,” said Chopra on his YouTube channel.

While chasing the target of 194 runs against LSG, DC lost three quick wickets after a decent start. The opener Prithvi Shaw and one-down batter Mitchell Marsh was clean-bowled by Mark Wood on successive deliveries. While Warner scored fighting 56 off 48 balls but it was not enough to take his side to victory.

“Till the time the top three score runs, you will stay in the game, but as soon as you go below that, you will find that the depth is slightly less. Let’s be honest, you can send Axar Patel to bat slightly up the order, he bats well,” he further added.

Whereas, in the game, KL Rahul-led LSG batted first and scored 193 runs for the loss of six wickets in 20 overs, while in the chase Delhi Capitals remained 50 runs short and crumbled for 143 runs with the loss of 9 wickets in 20 overs. The 33-year LSG pacer was awarded player of the match for his five-wicket haul.

“They will be able to manage the bowling. Kuldeep Yadav also bowls well and you have an option in the form of Axar Patel. So bowling will take care of itself, but there will be some problems in batting this time around,” concluded Chopra.

As it will be the doubleheaders in IPL 2023, on April 2, Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) will take on Rajasthan Royals at Hyderabad in the first game, and in the evening Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) knocks off with Mumbai Indian at Bengaluru.

Also read: ‘David Warner Will Be Backed By Australian Team’- Ross Taylor On ICC WTC 2023 Final Against India