New Delhi [India], May 22 : Delhi Capitals (DC) started their Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 season on a high, winning their first four matches and losing just once in their first six games but things quickly went downhill. A heavy 59-run defeat to Mumbai Indians (MI) on Wednesday was their fifth loss in the last six completed matches, which ultimately ended their playoff hopes, as per ESPNcricinfo.
Head coach Hemang Badani pointed out that one of the biggest issues was their inconsistency at the top of the batting order. Even during their early wins, DC kept changing their opening pair. They tried Faf du Plessis with Jake Fraser-McGurk, then Fraser-McGurk with KL Rahul, and also Abishek Porel with Fraser-McGurk. By the end of their campaign, they had used a total of seven different opening combinations. Their openers averaged just 19.23 runs across the season, the lowest among all teams.
"A settled opening pair is only possible when your opening pair gives you a start," Badani said, as quoted from ESPNcricinfo.
"If you don't get starts, you are bound to make changes to try and fill that gap, fill that void. While other sides have had great powerplay with the bat, we haven't had those, unfortunately. Opening at the top was a worry for us," he added.
Karun Nair had a memorable knock when he smashed a 40-ball 89 against Mumbai Indians in Delhi, coming in at No. 3. That innings included an impressive attack on Jasprit Bumrah, with 18 runs taken off the final over of the powerplay. However, Nair couldn't maintain that form. In his next six matches, he was dismissed for single-digit scores three times, including two ducks, and his highest was just 31. He was even promoted to open the batting in two of those games, but the move didn't pay off.
KL Rahul also had a mixed season. He began at No. 4 but was shuffled around, opening in some matches and batting at No. 3 in others. According to bowling coach Munaf Patel, Rahul himself asked to open against Gujarat Titans (GT), a move that worked well as he scored an unbeaten 112 but when he opened again against Mumbai, he couldn't repeat that success.
"You ideally want people to read the game and play. Most players have been around long enough," Badani said, as quoted from ESPNcricinfo.
"Even someone like Karun Nair, even though he's made a comeback into the IPL after two-three years, he's a seasoned campaigner. You don't necessarily have to literally spoon-feed them. With some of the younger boys, you still have to try and make sure that they are given the right information, they are being told and given role clarity," he added.
"But primarily, the guys who've been around long enough, you just try and help them with match-ups - who can you take down? What's an ideal number that we're looking at in the powerplay? What do you think is a good score in the powerplay on this surface? And how do we go about getting those numbers? That's primarily the conversation you would have with guys like Faf and KL and Karun and guys who've been around long enough. You don't necessarily teach them how to bat," he noted.
In the crucial game against MI, Delhi's bowlers lost control in the final overs. Mukesh Kumar gave away 27 runs in the second-last over, and Dushmantha Chameera conceded 21 in the final over, helping Mumbai set a challenging target of 181. The pitch wasn't easy for batting, but Suryakumar Yadav made it look simple with an unbeaten 73 off 43 balls, while Naman Dhir added a quickfire 24 off just 8 deliveries to close the innings on a high.
Badani admitted that those final overs were where Delhi lost the momentum.
"Until then, the 18 overs that were bowled by us were consistent, were spot on," he said, as quoted from ESPNcricinfo.
"Our execution wasn't to our expectation in the end. Those 48 runs in the last two overs were a big difference. (We should) be able to read the game better, be able to understand that the surface was slower. We could have gone to the cutters and wide yorkers. Even if you look to nail yorkers at this level, you would expect bowlers of international level to come and nail those balls. And if you don't do that, players like Surya who's been around long enough, will punish you," he added.
He also mentioned the absence of captain Axar Patel as a big blow. Axar had been sick with a bad flu and didn't even travel to the ground. Without him, DC fielded only two wrist spinners, Kuldeep Yadav and Vipraj Nigam and their batting line-up lacked variety, with just one left-hander, Abishek Porel, in the top eight.
"Someone like an Axel Patel would have made a massive difference to us," Badani noted.
"Left-arm spinners on this surface, somebody of his calibre, also with his left-hand batting, could have also countered (Mitchell) Santner. But as I said, the better side won, and I wish them well," he added.
Reflecting on the season, Badani felt that it was the small moments and near misses that cost Delhi a spot in the playoffs.
"For me, (the IPL is) a marathon," he said, as quoted from ESPNcricinfo.
"We had a great sprint to start with, where we had four (wins) at the top. We had five wins in six games and that is a great place to be. Since then, we've just struggled and not found that win," he added.
"To some extent, we've also had games where we genuinely felt that we could have won, and we just didn't finish those games. Like for instance, even (against) Mumbai at Delhi, we were cantering along and lost the game from there. Even against KKR (Kolkata Knight Riders), we had to get 60 in six (69 off 41 balls) with seven wickets in hand, two set batters (du Plessis and Axar)," he noted.
"If you want to win this competition, if you want to go to the playoffs, you want to ideally finish those games. And if you don't, then you have no one else to blame but yourself," he said.
DC will wrap up their campaign against Punjab Kings (PBKS) in Jaipur on May 24.