The absence of Rishabh Pant haunted Delhi Capitals throughout their 2023 campaign in the Indian Premier League (IPL). They had a decent side on paper and were one of the favourites to qualify for the playoffs. However, it was another season of missed opportunities as they continue to hunt for their maiden IPL title.
What we predicted
Under David Warner, captain in Pant’s absence, a much better performance was predicted from Delhi Capitals. The franchise was expected to improve on last season’s fifth place. They had a good pace and spin bowlers, and good depth in the batting order as well. But when it mattered, they failed to click as a unit.
Where they finished
Delhi Capitals finished ninth in the points table with just 10 points from14 games. The side lost their first five game, rebounded briefly and then lost steam as the season ended.
What went right?
Warner notched up 516 runs from 14 games, including six fifties. Phil Salt, the English wicket-keeper, played some useful knocks. He had the best strike-rates among all the Delhi batters, scoring 218 runs from 9 matches at a strike-rate over 160.
What went wrong?
Mitch Marsh, the Australian all-rounder, failed to live up to expectations. Marsh was one of the key overseas players for Delhi this season. The top order failed to click. Apart from Warner, none of the batters crossed 250 runs for the season, with the second-highest scorer being Axar Patel, who amassed 283 runs. The bowling group also rarely performed as a unit. Much more was expected, and needed, from the likes of Anrich Nortje (10 wickets), Kuldeep Yadav (10 wickets), Axar Patel (11 wickets) and Mukesh Kumar (7 wickets).
Saving Grace
Abhishek Porel, the Bengal wicket-keeper, was impressive behind the stumps but his batting needs improvement. , he needed a lot of improvement. Salt made an impact when drafted in to the XI, but the real surprise package was Ishant Sharma. On the sidelines for the start of the season, he was most impressive when given his chance. He picked up 10 wickets from eight games at a decent economy rate of 8.24.
Flop show
With Pant missing, the expectation from Prithvi Shaw was even greater, especially after he came to the IPL on the back of a string of good domestic performances. He turned out to be a big disappointment, scoring just 106 runs from eight games at a strike-rate of 124.70. He was dropped midway through the tournament as well. Manish Pandey’s decline was also reflected in the stats, as he scored only 160 runs at a strike-rate of 109.58.