MUMBAI: Delhi Capitals (DC) have been left to lick their wounds after failing to make the playoffs yet again. An entire revamp of their coaching staff and playing personnel hasn't changed their fortunes. What will really hurt is that they had a strong start, winning five out of their first six matches before faltering.
On Wednesday at the Wankhede Stadium against Mumbai Indians (MI), DC controlled the first 18 overs of the match but still suffered a comprehensive 59-run defeat.
Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!A stunning assault by Suryakumar Yadav (73 not out off 43 balls) and Naman Dhir (24 not out off 8 balls) in the final two overs undid all the good work done by DC's spinners Kuldeep Yadav and Vipraj Nigam, who conceded just 47 between them in eight overs.
Who's that IPL player?Seamers Mukesh Kumar (27 runs in the 19th over) and Dushmantha Chameera (21 runs in the final over) were thrashed for 48 in the final two overs, turning the game on its head. “The game changed in the last two overs that we bowled. The 18 overs that were bowled by us were consistent and spot on. We ended up giving away 48 in 12 balls. That's not something you would ideally want any side to be getting off you,” said Hemang Badani, Delhi Capitals' head coach.
“We could have read the game better. We could have understood that the surface was slower, could have gone to the cutters, could have also gone to the wide yorkers. You would expect bowlers of international level to come and nail the yorkers and if you don't do that, players like Surya, who have been around long enough, will punish you.”
Rueing the absence of skipper Axar Patel from this do-or-die game for his side due to illness, the DC head coach said, “With the way the ball spun, the target was a bit more than par. Anything around that 160-165 mark would have been a good total. Someone like Axar would have made a massive difference to us. A left-arm spinner on this surface would have been very helpful.”
Reflecting on a campaign that started with a bang for his side but ended with a whimper, Badani said, “IPL is a marathon. We had a great sprint to start with. We had a massive start. But then, we've also had games where we could have won and we just didn't finish those games.
“If you want to win this competition, go to the playoffs, you want to ideally finish those games and if you are not able to do so, then you have no one else to blame but yourself. We as a side could have done better,” he added.
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