Gone were the days when Delhi Capitals finished in the top three for three consecutive seasons. IPL 2023 is probably Delhi Capital’s worst start in history. And there might be a lot of reasons. First, it was the unavailability of Rishabh Pant due to a severe accident. And now both batters and bowlers are not showing their potential to put up a fight. Skipper David Warner and company might need to do a soul-searching after three consecutive defeats at the start of the season.
Delhi Capitals started their campaign with a loss by 50 runs against Lucknow Super Giants. They faced their second defeat at the hands of current Champions Gujrat Titans. GT beat them by 6 wickets. And the third defeat came from the last season’s finalist, Rajasthan Royals, by 57 runs. The reason behind all is probably the batters’ slow run rate and the bowlers’ lack of wickets.
Delhi Capitals lost 26 wickets in their first three games while ending up taking just 14 wickets. In every game, only four batters could pass the two-digit figure. Their impact players didn’t add a penny to the team’s progress. Though the skipper had two half-centuries in these three games, he got zero support from his deputies. And with Mitchell Marsh returning to Australia, DC might need to wait another year to catch the most prestigious T20 trophy.
DC Team Setup in IPL 2023
Delhi Capitals have chosen to go with a lefty-righty combination to start the innings. David Warner and Prithvi Shaw will be opening for them. Warner has already scored two half-centuries in the three games and is the second-leading run-scorer of the tournament. Yet his team couldn’t win these games. The lack of support from the other end forces Warner to play the role of an anchor rather than the hitter. His strike rate is 117.03, which gives enough idea of DC’s other batters. With Mitchell Marsh gone, Warner might continue the role for half of the season. Shaw, on the other hand, is struggling with his form. He is most likely to be used Impact player if DC bats second.
The departure of Marsh has given Rilee Roussow a promotion up in the order. But he is taking time to adjust to the IPL. The Marsh impact has allowed DC to try Manish Pandey and Rovman Powell in the middle order. On paper, DC’s top and middle order looks strong. But they are not looking destructive at all. Axar Patel, who had a fantastic Test series with the bat, has scored 58 runs so far. But DC should fix his position to number six rather than sending him to the 7th or 8th position. The lack of runs from Sarfaraz Khan is another headache for DC. They can try adding Yash Dhull to playing eleven. Dhull knows the home condition better than Khans.
DC’s bowling attack looks pale, but they have no options. Anrich Nortje will be the leader of the bowling attack. Besides Nortje, DC is choosing Khaleel Ahmed over Chetan Sakaria. Khaleel went for 5 fours in the first over against RR, followed by three in the next one. The Capitals should think of picking Sakaria and bringing Khaleel as an impact player whenever needed. Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav are the two key spinners from the DC camp. Yadav took 21 wickets at an average below 20 in the last season. But the magic is not seen so far, with just two wickets in three outings. Mukesh Kumar is a good addition to DC’s playing eleven.
Important Upcoming Encounters for Delhi Capitals
After losing the first three games, Delhi Capitals have some interesting encounters in the next few days. Here are some important upcoming fixtures for DC.
Against MI (11th April)
DC’s next fixture is against MI. MI is also in the same boat as DC. The 5-time champions are struggling with both batting and bowling units. With No Bumrah and Archer still recovering from the after-injury effects, DC have an ideal chance to beat MI. DC will be playing at home. David Warner has scored 678 runs in 21 games at a strike rate of 139.51. With his form, he only needs to score fast to help his team win their first game of the season.
Red Flag: Ishan Kishan averages 48.22 against DC at a strike rate of 146.13.
Against RCB (15th April)
DC will then travel to Bengaluru to play against the unpredictable yet mighty RCB. DC have lost their last three games against RCB. And at M. Chinnaswamy, they have 5 losses and a win in the last 6 games. So this will be a tough encounter for DC. But Warner loves to play against the red team. In 22 games, Warner has scored 943 runs with a strike rate of 163.72. Nortje also loves to play against RCB. He has claimed 7 wickets in 3 games against RCB.
Red Flag: Virat Kohli and Faf du Plessis are riding on a song with clean hitting. They can be a hurdle for DC bowlers.
Against Kolkata Knight Riders (20th April)
The same duo has the best record against KKR. While Warner has scored 1018 runs at a strike rate of 145.64, Nortje has claimed 8 wickets in 4 innings. But other DC batters will need to pitch in this game as other teams struggle with the KKR’s spin attack. Even RCB suffered a loss of 81 runs. DC has 3 wins in the last 5 games against KKR, including the two in the last season.
Red Flag: Andre Russell’s power-hitting ability and Sunil Narine’s form.
Can DC Win IPL 2023?
It is a blind man’s choice that DC won’t be qualifying for the knockouts of this IPL with the start they had. They must win at least 7 of the remaining 11 games to stand a chance with other teams. And they have no other option but to carry with the same team. From a batting perspective, Prithwi Shaw, Riley Roussow, and Rovman Powell need to score runs so that Warner can play his natural destructive game.
On the other hand, only Nortje will not win the games. Spin duos Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav need to take those important wickets. Mustafizur Rahman should be preferred when available.
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