NEW DELHI: The camaraderie between former Delhi Capitals teammates Axar Patel and Rishabh Pant was on full display during the toss of their Indian Premier League 2025 season opener at the ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam on Monday. The duo, now leading different franchises, shared a light-hearted moment that left everyone smiling.
Axar Patel, stepping up as the new Delhi Capitals skipper, walked out for the toss alongside Rishabh Pant, the freshly appointed captain of Lucknow Super Giants. The two greeted each other with a friendly hug, chatting and laughing as they prepared for the coin toss.
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When Axar won the toss and opted to bowl first, Pant couldn’t resist a playful tease. He cheekily chanted, “Batting first, batting first,” prompting both captains to burst into hearty laughter. The warmth between the two friends set a positive tone ahead of the intense clash.
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Explaining his decision, Axar said, “We are going to bowl first. It’s the dew factor, we don’t want to take any risk. I have played with Pant before — he knows me, and I know him. We know our tricks. I have played a lot for the Capitals and have been part of the leadership group for three years. I need to think like a leader.”
Pant, maintaining his upbeat demeanor despite losing the toss, responded, “I wanted to bowl first, but it’s a good wicket, so we can bat well and put up a good score. I have played for DC all my life, so there’s a lot of emotion there. Preparations have been good; everyone is in the right shape and frame of mind.”
The toss moment highlighted the deep bond and mutual respect between the two Indian cricket stars, despite their newfound rivalry as captains of opposing IPL teams.
Playing XIs:
- Delhi Capitals: Jake Fraser-McGurk, Faf du Plessis, Abishek Porel (w), Sameer Rizvi, Axar Patel (c), Tristan Stubbs, Vipraj Nigam, Mitchell Starc, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohit Sharma, Mukesh Kumar
- Lucknow Super Giants: Aiden Markram, Mitchell Marsh, Nicholas Pooran, Ayush Badoni, Rishabh Pant (w/c), David Miller, Prince Yadav, Digvesh Rathi, Shahbaz Ahmed, Shardul Thakur, Ravi Bishnoi
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