IPL 2025: Delhi Capitals’ Coach Criticizes Team for 48 Runs in Last Two Overs

After another season that saw them eliminated at the league stage, the Delhi Capitals (DC) have been left to reflect on their performance. Despite a significant overhaul of their coaching staff and playing lineup, the team’s fortunes remained unchanged. What particularly hurt them was their strong start to the tournament, which included five of six victories, but a series of poor performances later in the season.

On Wednesday night at the Wankhede Stadium, the visitors initially appeared to have a strong chance of securing a comprehensive 59-run victory. They controlled the first 18 overs of the match, forcing the Mumbai Indians to play 38 dot balls. However, a powerful assault by Surya Kumar Yadav (73 not out off 43 balls) and Naman Dhir (24 not out off 8 balls) in the final two overs turned the tide in favor of the Mumbai Indians.

The fact that their seamers Mukesh Kumar (27 runs in the 19th over) and Dushmantha Chameera (21 runs in the final over) were thrashed for 48 in the last two overs became the turning point of a match they had to win to remain in the competition. Hemang Badani, the Delhi Capitals head coach, admitted this during the post-match press conference.

“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 said.

He also mentioned that the team 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,” he added.

Rueing the absence of skipper Axar Patel from this crucial game due to illness, the DC head coach said, “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.”

Badani reflected on a campaign that started with a strong performance but ended on a disappointing note. “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.”

A major reason for their early exit was the lack of a settled opening pair. The team used as many as seven different opening combinations during the season. In a tournament where teams thrive on explosive starts from their openers, DC’s openers averaged 19.23 in the season, the lowest among all sides. Justifying the need to try different opening combinations, Badani 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 season with their final game against Punjab Kings on May 24 at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur.