Not the ideal place to be in but Delhi Capitals’ dismal IPL 2023 campaign has earned them the license to be fearless and activate party pooper mode for the remainder of the season. The comprehensive win over Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) would have done a world of good to the mood in the DC dugout and landed an impactful blow to the opposition’s playoff chances. The win moves DC to the ninth spot in the points table and leaves RCB in a five-way tie at 10 points. Had Saturday been their night, RCB would have moved up to the third spot but the defeat meant they remain at fifth in the mid-table logjam.
This isn’t the first time we are seeing teams at the bottom of the table spoil some parties but in this very closely-fought edition, every point counts and no team would want to slip in the business end. DC are mathematically still in the race as four more wins take them to 16 points and it’s the fearlessness and intent, which was on display at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, which makes the wounded unit wear a dangerous look.
DC are now scheduled to play both Chennai Super Kings and Punjab Kings twice (home and away respectively) and the David Warner-led unit’s new-found clarity of thought will make life tough for the opponents. CSK, currently 2nd on the points table with 13 points, would need to win at least two of their last three fixtures (two vs DC, one vs KKR) and PBKS can’t afford to put a foot wrong as they find themselves in the mid-table tussle.
The batting act
For DC to continue hurting teams ahead of them in the race to playoffs, they need to stick to the batting template vs RCB. After experimenting with a lot of Indian domestic batters, DC went with overseas batters in the top four positions on Saturday. Phil Salt led the charge and was ably supported by useful cameos from David Warner, Mitchell Marsh, and Rilee Rossouw. One thing which stood out in that win was the intent of all four batters.
The intent was missing even from Warner’s bat and was nowhere to be seen from the likes of Prithvi Shaw, Yash Dhull, Sarfaraz Khan, and Priyam Garg. DC kept rotating the uncapped Indian batters and shuffled their positions but didn’t get the desired results. Presser after presser, different faces from the dugout defended the young Indian batters in the squad but their negligible contributions kept pulling the team down, match after match.
It’s not that the bowling unit has all bases covered but it gets very difficult for the bowlers to win you games when the batting fails to put up a fight. The fight was needed in that close game against SRH, which they lost by nine runs. Had they won that, the points table would have been more tight.
The math
If DC go on to win their next four games, not only will they derail CSK and PBKS’ campaign but keep themselves in contention for the last-four spot. DC are currently ninth with 8 points and four more wins will take them to 16 points and keep PBKS to a maximum of 14 points and CSK to 15. The home stretch of the season will get even more intense if DC continue playing the way they did against RCB.
Rossouw echoed similar thoughts at the post-match interaction where he said the “freedom to play the way we (DC) want” lends a very dangerous look to this DC unit.
“We can’t lose another game so we are going out with the freedom to play the way we want. The way we played tonight, you would not suspect we have lost 6 games or how many ever, who knows if we get lucky and get into the knockouts, with the way we are playing, we could be dangerous,” said Rossouw.
DC travel to Chennai next where they take on MS Dhoni-led CSK. Captain Warner knows the fixture is going to be “tough” but is pleased that his side has found the “right balance at the right time”.
“It is all about momentum, we are finding the right balance at the right time. Now we go to Chennai and try to get a performance there, I know it will be tough,” Warner said at the post-match presentation ceremony.
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