Despite having lost six of its previous eight games, the manner in which the Delhi Capitals bowlers had restricted Mumbai Indians for the first 18 overs of a must-win game gave the visiting dugout a ray of hope of keeping its hopes of making a rare Playoffs appearance in the Indian Premier League (IPL).
However, the last two overs saw Suryakumar Yadav and Naman Dhir pulverise Mukesh Kumar and Dushmantha Chameera for 48 runs. Hemang Badani, the Capitals’ head coach, admitted that the seasoned pacers erred in their plans and execution.
“Until then, the 18 overs that were bowled by us were consistent, were spot on. Our execution wasn’t to our expectations in the end. Those 48 runs in the last two overs were a big difference,” Badani said after the Capitals’ hopes were dashed after a 59-run win at the Wankhede Stadium on Wednesday night.
“(The pacers should) be able to read the game better, be able to understand that the surface was slower. We could have gone to the cutters and wide yorkers. Even if you look to nail yorkers at this level, you would expect bowlers of international level to come and nail those balls. If you don’t do that, players like Surya, who have been around long enough, will punish you.”
Besides the pace pack proving largely ineffective, the Capitals have employed seven opening combinations so far, and still have returned with the lowest opening partnership average in IPL 2025. Badani admitted it as a major setback in a campaign that went downhill after Delhi Capitals started with four wins on a trot.
“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,” Badani said. “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.”