“Nearly fell off my chair” - Former RCB star’s brutal take on Delhi Capitals’ lineup in SRH vs DC IPL 2025 match
Former Australian all-rounder Shane Watson slammed the Delhi Capitals (DC) for their change in the batting order in the IPL 2025 clash against the SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) on Monday, May 5. After SRH won the toss and elected to field first, DC surprisingly sent Karun Nair to open with Faf du Plessis.
Faf opened the batting with Abishek Porel in DC's previous games before the latter swapped positions with No.3 Karun Nair. The move did not work, as Nair got dismissed for a duck off the first ball of the innings.
The early dismissal seemingly impacted the rest of the batting order as DC slipped to 26/4 inside the powerplay.
Talking about the move to open with Nair on Star Sports, Watson said (via India Today):
"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."
He continued:
"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."
DC eventually scraped through to a sub-par 133/7 in 20 overs, thanks to a pair of 41s from Tristan Stubbs and Ashutosh Sharma.
DC survive defeat to SRH with rain washing out play
DC appeared to be heading toward a third consecutive defeat in the SRH clash when the weather gods intervened, washing out the remainder of the contest. After DC's batting innings ended, a heavy downpour ensued for over an hour to abandon any chance of resumption.
The game eventually got called off, with both teams awarded a point each. It meant DC remained fifth on the points table with 13 points in 11 outings, while SRH got officially eliminated from playoff contention.
DC will likely have to win two of their final three league stage games to advance to the knockouts. They will take on the Punjab Kings (PBKS) at Dharamsala on Thursday, May 8.