3 matches DC will regret losing the most in the IPL 2024
In a season of ups and downs, the Delhi Capitals (DC) gave their fans an evening of enjoyment when they faced the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) on Tuesday, May 14, in their last league match. Batting first, DC put up a total of 208 runs, courtesy of half-centuries from Abhishek Porel (58) and Tristan Stubbs (57).
Meanwhile, Ishant Sharma led the charge in the second inning, picking up three wickets in the powerplay. Nicholas Pooran (61) and Arshad Khan (58) fought hard but couldn’t get LSG over the line as they fell short by 19 runs, handing DC their seventh win of the season.
DC finished their campaign with 14 points and are currently fifth on the points table. Even though they are still in the race for the playoffs, their chances are slim. What hurts DC most is their net run rate of -0.377.
Capitals will hope that the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) beat the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) while the SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) lose both their games by big margins so that their run rate could go down compared to DC.
As DC fans now hope for miracles to happen, in this article, we will look at three matches that the Capitals will regret losing the most in this IPL seas
3 matches DC will regret losing the most in the IPL 2024
#1 PBKS vs. DC: Punjab Kings won by 4 wickets
The Delhi Capitals faced the Punjab Kings (PBKS) in their first match of the season. Batting first, no DC batter was able to convert their starts into big innings, as at one point, they were 138-7. Then came impact sub-Abhishek Porel, who smashed 32 runs off 10 balls to take DC to a decent total of 174 runs.
In reply, DC took two important wickets in the powerplay, but Ishant Sharma had to leave the field due to injury. This meant that Delhi were a bowler short; they couldn’t take wickets at regular intervals, and Sam Curran scored a fifty to take PBKS home.
DC spinners (Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel) in their combined eight overs conceded only 45 runs and took two wickets; however, what affected their chances was the spell of Mitchell Marsh (who gave away 52 in four overs) and Sumit Patel, who conceded 19 runs in 1.2 overs, denting DC hopes.
#2 RR vs. DC: The Capitals lost the match by 12 runs
The Capitals won the toss and asked the Royals to bat first in their second game of the season. Rajasthan, thanks to a brilliant innings from Riyan Parag (84*), put up a score of 185 runs.
Even though DC lost a couple of early wickets, things were looking great for them after 11 overs, as they were 93 for 2, with David Warner (45) and Rishabh Pant (24) batting. However, DC lost Warner in the 12th over, and soon after, Pant got out, and suddenly DC were 105/4.
Tristan Stubbs did his best and remained unbeaten on 44 off 23 balls, but innings from Porel (9 off 10 balls) and Axar Patel (15* off 13 balls), plus losing wickets at crucial times hurt DC. They fell short by 12 runs and lost their second consecutive game of the season.
#3 RCB vs. DC: The Royal Challengers won by 47 runs
After losing their first two games, DC made a comeback and won six out of the next 10. After 12 games, Delhi had 12 points with their fate still in their hands. However, before this all-important match, it was announced that Rishabh Pant would serve a one-match ban due to slow overrate in the previous match.
Axar Patel, the stand-in DC captain, won the toss and chose to bowl first. RCB started brilliantly and were 110/2 at the halfway stage. DC pulled the game back in the last 10 overs; they took key wickets and restricted RCB to 187.
However, in reply, the Capitals lost four wickets in the powerplay, and with no Pant in the middle order, a couple of runouts of key players (Jake Fraser-McGurk and Tristan Stubbs) shattered DC's hopes. Axar Patel fought hard and scored a brilliant fifty; however, DC fell well short of the target as they lost by 47.