Last night at Arun Jaitley Stadium, the Delhi Capitals secured their first victory of IPL 2023 by defeating the Kolkata Knight Riders. DC’s bowling unit was instrumental in their success, with Ishant Sharma, Kuldeep Yadav, and Anrich Nortje each taking two wickets to limit KKR to a mere 127 runs.
Although any team would have welcomed a target of 128 runs in IPL 2023, the Delhi Capitals almost lost the match. DC’s batting struggled to execute their game plan, resulting in a score of 111/6 after being 62/1 at one point. While Nitish Rana, Varun Chakravarthy, and Anukul Roy bowled well, the lack of execution from DC’s batting almost cost them the match. Had the Kolkata Knight Riders dismissed Axar Patel early, they could have won the game.
DC’s poor batting performance in other matches earlier in the season has led to their struggles in IPL 2023. Here are three reasons why their batting is faltering.
Rishabh Pant’s absence
Rishabh Pant, the captain of the Delhi Capitals, has been ruled out of IPL 2023 due to injuries he sustained in a serious accident last December. Pant has been a key player in DC’s middle order for the past five seasons, and his absence is a significant blow to the team.
Before the IPL 2022 Auction, Pant was DC’s first retention, underscoring the impact he had on the team. However, Pant’s accident occurred after the auction for IPL 2023, leaving DC with no choice but to select a replacement from the unsold players’ list.
Unfortunately, there is currently no wicket-keeper batter in India who can match Rishabh Pant’s abilities, and selecting a replacement from the unsold list has severely impacted DC’s team balance.
Too Many Changes in Team Selection
The Delhi Capitals have played six matches in IPL 2023, with only David Warner and Prithvi Shaw being the two batters to have featured in all six games. Meanwhile, Manish Pandey, Sarfaraz Khan, Rilee Rossouw, Lalit Yadav, Abishek Porel, Aman Hakim Khan, Phil Salt, Rovman Powell, Mitchell Marsh, and Yash Dhull have played between two to four matches each.
Frequent changes in the playing XI can negatively impact team morale, with players feeling insecure about their positions in the team. When a team gives up on a player after only two or three failures, it can create an unhealthy team environment, which could potentially affect the team’s performance on the field. This seems to have been reflected in DC’s inconsistent performances this season.
Players Batting In Wrong Positions
The Delhi Capitals have yet to establish a consistent and effective batting order in IPL 2023. While Prithvi Shaw and David Warner have regularly opened the innings, the positions of the subsequent batters in the lineup have frequently changed.
For instance, Rovman Powell performed well for DC last season, scoring 134 runs at an average of 22.33 and a strike rate of 142.55 as a number-six batter. However, this season, he has been used as a number five and number seven batter.
Similarly, Mitchell Marsh performed exceptionally well as an opener for Australia in the ODI series against India, but DC has continued with Shaw and Warner at the top, while Marsh has been sent in at number three. This has led some fans to criticize the team management’s decision-making regarding the batting order.