Three similarities between Delhi Capitals' men's and women's sides
The Delhi Capitals are one of the three franchises that have a team in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and the Women's Premier League (WPL). The Mumbai Indians and the Royal Challengers Bangalore are the two other sides that also have a team in the prestigious men's and women's T20 tournaments.
As some would know, the Delhi team used to be called the Delhi Daredevils before rebranding themselves as the Capitals. However, the change in name hasn't brought about a change in fortunes, with the team still searching for their first title.
The women's side, on the other hand, are competing in the inaugural edition of the WPL and have won two out of their three games so far. With the team looking in good shape, they will be amongst the contenders to win the inaugural edition of the tournament.
On that note, we take a look at three similarities between the Delhi Capitals' men's and women's sides:
#1 Plenty of firepower in the middle order
The Delhi Capitals teams have set up in a similar manner in terms of their batting. Both teams have plenty of firepower in the middle order. The likes of Mitchell Marsh, Rovman Powell, Rishabh Pant, and Axar Patel mean that there's enough depth with the bat.
For the women's team, Jemimah Rodrigues, Alice Capsey, Marizanne Kapp, and Jess Jonassen have a similar presence in their middle order, providing the team with enough options with bat and ball, setting up a solid dynamic.
The men's team haven't won the IPL so far and will look to break that duck in the upcoming season. The Delhi Capitals are doing well in the WPL and could fancy their chances of getting their hands on some silverware.
#2 An oddly similar dynamic at the top of the order
Well, it's not only the middle order that's too similar. The top order is more of the same. The men's team have the highest overseas run-scorer in IPL, David Warner opening the batting for them. Alongside him, Prithvi Shaw is a destructive Indian batter who captained India to a U19 World Cup win. He plays the role of an aggressor to make it a formidable opening stand for the Capitals.
For the women's side, they have multiple World Cup and T20 World Cup winner leading their side with Meg Lanning doing what she does best. Alongside the captain, the team has Shafali Verma, who led India to a U19 World Cup win only a few months ago, forming a solid opening stand for Delhi Capitals.
#3 Both teams have an overseas head coach
Former Australian captain Ricky Ponting is the head coach of the Delhi Capitals men's side. While former Englishman Jonathan Batty is taking charge of the women's team. The two coaches have similar coaching styles in terms of how they've assembled their side, especially with their star all-rounders.
Representing the same franchise, their strategies at the auction table were also oddly similar. The team management made sure they manage to get the services of Mitchell Marsh for the men's side, and Marizanne Kapp for the women's side, knowing that the two head coaches have worked with both players in some capacity in the past.