3 reasons why Delhi Capitals are struggling in IPL 2023
In what was a tense match, Mumbai Indians (MI) held their nerves against Delhi Capitals (DC) to clinch a six-wicket win in a last-ball thriller at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Tuesday, April 11.
It was the first win for the Rohit Sharma-led side in the IPL 2023, while the Capitals suffered four defeats on the trot. This is their second-worst start to a season after losing six straight in IPL 2013.
Nothing seems to be going their way right now. They are struggling big time on the field, not only in tactical shrewdness but also in their approach to the game.
On that note, let's take a look at three reasons why Delhi Capitals are struggling in IPL 2023.
#1 Tactical errors by Delhi Capitals
With more than 10 overs still left in their innings against the Mumbai Indians, the Capitals' management decided to send Rovman Powell at No. 5, despite knowing that there were still 4 overs of spin remaining.
Powell's numbers against spinners aren't great and especially against leg spinners, he tends to struggle big time. The West Indian averages 11.95 with a strike rate of 95.46 and has been dismissed four times in 48 deliveries.
The move backfired rather quickly than expected, as Piyush Chawla trapped him plumb in front with a googly. It was bowled at fuller length and spun to hit the batter on his pad, getting him dismissed for the fifth time against the leg-spinners.
This is one of many examples that shows how their tactical mistakes have cost the team big time.
#2 Delhi's Murphy Law
Nothing seems to be going the Delhi Capitals' way, be it their batting or bowling. They have one batter in David Warner, who is scoring consistently but his below-par strike rate hasn't done any good for the team. Although he has scored 209 runs so far in the tournament, those runs came at a rate of 114.83.
Other batters, meanwhile, are struggling with their form or are not being utilized properly by the management.
They also have a handful of bowlers doing well for them in the form of Kuldeep Yadav and Anrich Nortje. Besides them, no bowler has created that kind of effect and has looked clueless so far with their executions.
Rovman Powell and Mitchell Marsh have already bowled more than anyone expected from them, considering the latter's injury concerns.
#3 Delhi Capitals' not utilizing its resources properly
Besides Warner, if there's any batter who has looked comfortable making runs with a healthy strike rate against both pace and spin, it's Axar Patel.
The southpaw has already amassed 108 runs at a rate of 168.8, mostly batting at No. 6. With other batters struggling to find their form, it would be viable for Delhi to use Axar's batting abilities higher up the order.
Their cause has not been helped by too much chopping and changing their combination either, which hampers the stability of the squad and impacts the team's performance, which is clearly visible in the results so far.