IPL 2025, RCB vs DC: Axar Patel provides major update on KL Rahul's role during toss

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Delhi Capitals, led by Axar Patel, chose to bowl first after winning the toss against Royal Challengers Bengaluru. Faf du Plessis replaced Samir Rizvi in Delhi’s lineup, while Bengaluru remained unchanged. Axar mentioned KL Rahul would bat in the middle order and emphasized the importance of both spinners and fast bowlers in their bowling strategy.

NEW DELHI: Delhi Capitals captain Axar Patel won the toss and opted to bowl against Royal Challengers Bengaluru in their Indian Premier League (IPL) clash on Thursday. The Capitals, the only unbeaten team in the tournament so far, have won all three of their matches and currently sit second on the points table.

RCB, with three wins and one loss, are placed third.

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While Bengaluru retained their playing XI, Delhi made one change, bringing in Faf du Plessis in place of Samir Rizvi.

After winning the toss, Axar also shared an update on KL Rahul’s batting position.

“We will bowl first. My fingers are fine, protecting it, but if needed, I will bowl all four overs. Faf is fit, he’s in and (Sameer Rizvi) Rizzie is out. We’ve decided on our order and KL will bat in the middle-order,” Axar said.

He also discussed the bowling strategy:

“Spinners will have a role here, but the fast bowlers can also take wickets. They’ll have to play the roles they’ve been selected to do, we’ve two good leg-spinners, they’re our attacking options, we have defending options as well, so we’ll have to play according to whatever the match situation demands.”

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RCB skipper Rajat Patidar, standing in for Faf, said they would have preferred to chase but remained confident.

“We would have loved to chase, but the surface looks hard, we’ll look to put up a good total and defend it,” Patidar said.

“I always back my instincts, but I do plan as well. It’s important to win home matches as well, important to have the momentum going. No changes for us.”

Playing XIs:

RCB: Virat Kohli, Phil Salt, Devdutt Padikkal, Rajat Patidar (c), Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Tim David, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Josh Hazlewood, Yash Dayal.

DC: Jake Fraser-McGurk, Faf du Plessis, KL Rahul (wk), Tristan Stubbs, Ashutosh Sharma, Axar Patel (c), Vipraj Nigam, Mitchell Starc, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohit Sharma, Mukesh Kumar.

Get the latest IPL 2025 updates on Times of India, including match schedules, team squads, points table and IPL live score for CSK, MI, RCB, KKR, SRH, LSG, DC, GT, PBKS, and RR. Don’t miss the list of players in the race for IPL Orange Cap and IPL Purple cap.

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