IPL 2023: What is going wrong for Delhi Capitals?
What's the story
Delhi Capitals suffered their sixth defeat in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 season on Sunday. They lost by nine runs against ninth-placed Sunrisers Hyderabad. DC are currently at the bottom of the table with only four points. Their two wins this season have come against KKR and SRH. They will aim to win against table-toppers Gujarat Titans on Tuesday.
Prithvi Shaw
Shaw's forgettable IPL season
Prithvi Shaw has been a pivotal figure in the DC lineup. It is his aggression that allows the middle-order batters to utilize the platform set in the Powerplay. He was DC's third-highest run-scorer with 283 runs last season. But this season, he has struggled for form. His scores in the first six games before getting dropped were 12, 7, 0, 15, 0, and 13.
Rishabh Pant
The Rishabh Pant factor
DC are missing Rishabh Pant dearly this season. He is not only their leader but also a batting linchpin and a top wicket-keeper. He brings too many aspects to this team, and when he was ruled out due to an accident earlier this year, it was a major blow to the franchise. Pant slammed 340 runs last season in 14 matches at 30.90.
David Warner
David Warner's struggles this season
David Warner has done the heavy lifting for DC this season. He has scored 306 runs in eight matches at an average of 38.25. However, his paltry strike rate of 118.60 means that the runs have been of little impact. He owns the second-lowest strike rate this season among batters with more than 250 runs. He trails LSG skipper KL Rahul (SR: 114.64).
Batters
Lack of contribution from Indian batters
While Warner has batted slowly, he has at least scored runs for DC. The Indian batters have simply not stood up this season for the franchise. The likes of Shaw, Manish Pandey, Yash Dhull, and Sarfaraz Khan have struggled. This has resulted in them recording low scores. Axar Patel (211) remains the only batter other than Warner to cross 150-plus runs.
Death bowling
Least wickets in death overs this season
DC's strength in bowling has to be their two spinners in Kuldeep Yadav and Axar. While they have restricted teams in the middle overs, they have leaked runs in the last four overs. They have conceded 331 runs in this phase but have taken only seven wickets, the least by any team this season. The pacers will have to step up in this regard.
Key performers
Who all have done well for DC?
Axar has slammed 211 runs in eight matches at an average of 35.16. He has scalped seven wickets with a brilliant economy of 7.07. Kuldeep has also picked seven wickets and has an economy of 7.18. Pandey, who has scored 132 runs in six matches, will have to do a lot better. Anrich Nortje (six wickets) will look to pick more scalps going forward.