IPL: DC need to rely on final sprint to halt indifferent campaign

New Delhi: Kings XI Punjab are unbeaten in six matches in the ongoing competition – five wins and one no result intense pulsed light. Two more wins would equal their best record from 13 years ago. Their next opponents Delhi Capitals are at the other end of the momentum.DC have won three of their six matches and lost three of their last four to sit sixth in the IPL standings. The only win in the past fortnight was a penultimate-goal win over Royal Challengers Bangalore in Bengaluru.The next two weeks could prove make-or-break for Delhi Capitals, with four of the next five games being played at home. The only away match during this period was against Rajasthan Royals.

In their two home matches so far, they defeated Mumbai Indians by six wickets in one and lost to Gujarat Titans by one run in the other, a match that went on till the last ball.The inability to catch 211 points has been one of D.C.’s problems this year. They have yet to eclipse their 200-plus point target this season and have fallen short in eight of 10 attempts since 2024.“Things are looking worse because we are chasing every game. The other day, we lost three wickets in a game and we didn’t bat very well. We still batted around 190,” the DC outfit said. Tristan Stubbs On the eve of the match against PBKS at the Arun Jaitley Stadium.“Yes, we didn’t have a perfect inning, but on a bad day we won three out of six. Even though we lost, we still scored 190 points.”“We know there are going to be little moments in the game. We’re getting these big scores. We’re not too worried,” he continued.The challenge remains the lack of clarity on preferred options. Pathum Nissanka topped the team’s batting order with three quick 40-plus runs, while also scoring 1, 1 and 8 to offset the impact.Third place is the most “adventurous”. Nitish Rana, Sameer Rizvi and Karun Nair all tried their hand at it and finished with an output of 88 runs at an average of 14.66. Rana was even dropped for poor returns but scored 57 runs in the last game against SRH.Sameer Rizvi got off to a good start, helping the team secure two consecutive man-of-the-match performances, but things gradually deteriorated from there. His contributions in the past four games are 0, 6, 2 and 41 respectively.This uncertainty exists in the bowling department as well. In the absence of Mitchell Starc, Good luck and Mukesh Kumar in charge of the seam bowling department. However, spinners are yet to join the bandwagon.Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel A total of 11 wickets were taken this season while conceding 341 runs in 38 overs with an economy of nearly 9 overs. They bowled just two overs each as SRH accumulated 242 runs, with Nitish Rana completing his quota of overs.With a crucial stretch approaching and Starc set to join next week, it’s a big game for the team to figure out the best combination – which so far seems unclear.