Axar also pointed to sloppy fielding as a factor that allowed MI to cross the 200-mark, but praised his spin unit.
Pace spearhead Harshit Rana received a well-deserved maiden call-up, following his impressive performances.
Shubman Gill will have to lead from the front in absence of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma but the young team should not be judged too early, said Harbhajan Singh.
'You told me not to go easy on the batters.'
India's pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah is up and running in Beckenham, putting in the hard yards before the upcoming five high-stakes Tests against England, slated to kick off on June 20 at Headingley.
'It turned out to be a special day. I have never thought about taking five wickets. I just wanted the team to win which is more important.'
But the hosts will be a confident group as star batter Virat Kohli made a return to run-making ways after an all too brief blip.
'Most of the batters performed. I would say that is a very good sign going forward. Apart from this you have got three quality batters who are not even part of the squad -- Shreyas (Iyer), Sarfaraz (Khan) and (Devdutt) Padikkal.'
Delhi Capitals will be desperate to arrest their slump and stay in contention for a play-off berth when they take on high-flying Punjab Kings in a crucial IPL match in Dharamsala on Thursday.
After eight seasons, countless memories, and a captaincy stint with DC, Pant will walk out in Vizag wearing different colours -- for the very first time.
A full-strength Punjab Kings will fancy their chances of securing their first top-two finish in 11 years, when they face Delhi Capitals on Saturday.
Kuldeep picked the wickets of Ben Stokes at Ranchi and Zak Crawley in Dharamsala as his favourite dismissals from the series.
Gill earns glory with maiden double hundred, puts India on top in second Test
'We were lacking in assessing the conditions and the situation'
Technique and natural pace may me Jadeja's undoing in England
Virat Kohli remains the biggest draw as he returns to his 'home ground' at the back of five half-centuries in nine games. Four of them have come away from the Chinnaswamy Stadium and despite being in the opposition camp, the Delhi crowd will be hoping the Indian superstar extends his prolific run in the tournament.
Gill second successive ton as skipper takes India to 310 for 5
The plus point for Kuldeep Yadav is his ability to extract turn and bounce.
This was India's seventh defeat in their last nine matches as their poor run in Test cricket continues following successive series defeats against New Zealand at home and in Australia.
IMAGES from the Indian Premier League match played between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Delhi Capitals in Bengaluru on Thursday.
Risking his own life, a Kashmiri tourist guide saved the lives of children from a group of tourists from Chhattisgarh when terrorists struck in Pahalgam on Tuesday.
While MI's win will assure them of a place in the play-offs, Delhi Capitals need to win both their remaining games to advance.
Delhi Capitals committed harakiri in what seemed like an easy run chase against Mumbai Indians to slump to their first defeat in IPL 2025 at the Arun Jaitley stadium in Delhi on Sunday, April 13, 2025.
Jurel has produced a solid body of work in first-class and Test cricket alike, even though he displayed a completely different avatar for the Rajasthan Royals (RR) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) as a finisher since his debut in 2023.
Rajat should be part of India's white ball set-up: Coach Khurasiya
Starc dismantled SRH's top order with sheer pace, while Kuldeep's control in the middle overs ensured there was no way back for the batting side.
Tahir felt left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep was able to grab the opportunities that came along his way.
India ended an 11-year-long ICC Trophy drought, beating South Africa by seven runs to claim the ICC T20 World Cup title for the second time on June 29 last year, in Barbados.
Kuldeep Yadav has taken 27 wickets from 14 matches this year, the highest by an Indian bowler in ODIs.
The Capitals sit pretty at the top with 10 points from six games, while the Titans trail close behind with eight from as many outings.
The spinners kept a lid on the scoring with Varun Chakravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja taking wickets at regular intervals.
It was a headache to decide between Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav as third spinner: Rohit Sharma
Shubman should focus on his decisions and not how outside world perceives him: Tendulkar
An out of sorts Rohit Sharma will strive to keep himself relevant going forward in the Indian Premier League when he is challenged by Delhi Capitals' effective troika of spinners in Mumbai Indians' next match in Delhi on Sunday.
Delhi Capitals looked like a well-oiled machine with four wins in a row before a stunning batting meltdown against Mumbai Indians halted their momentum.
Veteran England pacer James Anderson has revealed that Kuldeep Yadav had a hunch about being his 700th Test wicket when the two came face to face during the fifth and final Test against India in Dharamsala.
The Delhi Capitals will be looking to improve their batting performance in the middle overs when they face a struggling Kolkata Knight Riders in their Indian Premier League match on Tuesday.
New Zealand great Stephen Fleming feels Kuldeep Yadav can provide that 'extra bit of wicket-taking flair' in the Super 8 stage.
Images from the IPL match between Lucknow Super Giants and Delhi Capitals in Lucknow on Friday.
A probable lack of solution for his recurring struggles with the ball outside the off-stump prompted Virat Kohli to take retirement from Test cricket
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