Delhi Capitals’ IPL 2025 Exit: Coaching Staff’s Blunt Assessment of Final Overs
After another season marked by early exits, the Delhi Capitals (DC) have been left to reflect on their performance in the 2025 Indian Premier League (IPL). Despite a strong start to the tournament, the team’s fortunes shifted dramatically in the final stages of the season, leading to their elimination from the competition. The team’s decision to restructure their coaching and playing staff failed to bring the desired results, and the recent loss to Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium has left the team in a difficult position.
The match, which took place on May 21, 2025, saw the Delhi Capitals control the first 18 overs of the game, forcing Mumbai Indians to play 38 dot balls. However, the team’s downfall came in the final two overs, where a remarkable performance by Surya Kumar Yadav and Naman Dhir turned the game in favor of Mumbai Indians. The Delhi Capitals’ spinners, Kuldeep Yadav and Vipraj Nigam, were able to restrict the batsmen to just 47 runs in eight overs, but the last two overs saw the team concede 48 runs in 12 balls.
Delhi Capitals head coach Hemang Badani admitted that the performance in the final two overs was the turning point of the match. He stated, ‘The game changed in the last two overs that we bowled. The 18 overs that were bowled by us were consistent and spot on. Our execution wasn’t to our expectation in the end, and we ended up giving away 48 in 12 balls. I never deny the fact that you can’t get 50 or 60 off 30 balls anymore. But we are speaking of 48 off 12 balls. That’s a lot. We are speaking of 24 runs an over. That’s not something you would ideally want any side to be getting off you.’
Badani also highlighted the impact of the team’s inability to read the game effectively. He said, ‘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.’
Badani also expressed his disappointment over the absence of skipper Axar Patel, who was unavailable due to illness. He stated, ‘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. No excuses, and it’s just that the better side won. But I would like to add here that someone like Axar would have made a massive difference to us. A left-arm spinner on this surface would have been very helpful for us. Moreover, his left-hand batting would have also countered (Mitchell) Santner.’
Reflecting on the team’s campaign, Badani said that the team missed out on some near-wins, citing the 12-run defeat after a severe collapse that saw them lose eight wickets for 58 runs back home in Delhi. He added, ‘For me, it’s a marathon. We had a great sprint to start with. We had a massive start to start. But then, we’ve also had games where I 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, we had to get 60 in six [69 off 41 balls] with seven wickets in hand, two set batters [du Plessis and Axar]. 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.’
Badani also pointed out that a major reason for the team’s early exit was the lack of a settled opening pair. He said, ‘A settled opening pair is only possible when your opening pair gives you a start. 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.’
The Delhi Capitals will now look to salvage their pride when they round off their season with their final game against Punjab Kings on May 24 at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur.