Can Delhi Capitals finally break their IPL jinx?

Delhi Capitals have once again shown early promise and hope to go the distance in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Although they have consistently disappointed in the final stages, the team is off to an explosive start in the ongoing 18th edition of the T20 extravaganza.

After three matches, the Rishabh Pant-led side sits jointly atop the league table and looks poised to qualify for next month’s playoffs, following a complete overhaul of the coaching and support staff before the season began.

Known as Delhi Daredevils for 11 seasons since the IPL’s launch in 2008, the franchise has flattered to deceive across 17 editions. They often boast one of the most balanced teams on paper and have mostly performed well in the league stage, but the crown has eluded them.

As Delhi Daredevils, they reached the semi-finals under the old format. The closest they came to securing the title was in 2020, when the Shreyas Iyer-led Delhi Capitals lost to Mumbai Indians in the final in Dubai following a batting collapse. They have also reached the playoffs three times — in 2012, 2019, and 2021. Last season was again dismal, as Pant’s side finished sixth out of 10 teams — a slight improvement from ninth in 2023.

Since then, Pant has moved to Lucknow SuperGiants for a record-breaking fee of Rs 27 crore after opting for the auction. The two franchise stakeholders — original owner GMR Sports and JSW Sports, which bought a 50% stake in March 2018 — made sweeping changes to the management, bringing in a new coaching staff led by head coach Hemang Badani.

The changes, including the appointment of Axar Patel as captain, have yielded promising results at the outset of the long tournament, with several prominent players like KL Rahul hitting early form.

Delhi Capitals began their campaign with a narrow one-wicket win over LSG in Visakhapatnam, followed by a more convincing seven-wicket victory against SunRisers Hyderabad, with 24 balls to spare, also in Visakhapatnam. Then came their biggest celebration yet — a maiden win over Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in 15 years. That win at the CSK stronghold, the MA Chidambaram Stadium, was powered by KL Rahul’s 51-ball 77 and solid bowling performances by Australian speedster Mitchell Starc and leg-spinner Vipraj Nigam.

Following Delhi Capitals’ away win over CSK, Badani acknowledged the team still had a long road ahead.

“We are happy as a side to take the three wins. But at the same time, we all know that there is still a lot of cricket left. I have also been a cricketer, and I have seen a lot of ups and downs in life. So, we have won all three matches. There is no excitement. We are still humble and grounded. We want to keep playing good cricket,” he said after the match at Chennai’s MA Chidambaram Stadium.

At the end of their first three matches, Delhi Capitals were atop the leaderboard with six points, alongside Gujarat Titans and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), as of April 7. Whether Delhi can sustain this momentum and win their first title remains to be seen.

Each of the 10 teams plays 14 matches in the league phase, after which the top four advance to the playoffs.

Delhi Capitals were scheduled to play RCB — another title-less side — in their fourth match on April 10 in Bengaluru. The final is scheduled for May 25.

Another record for Kohli
Another Delhi batting stalwart, Virat Kohli, is making waves elsewhere. On April 7, he became the first Indian to score 13,000 runs in the T20 format during his 42-ball 67 — his 99th half-century — in RCB’s away match against Mumbai Indians (MI) at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. His aggregate now stands at 9,716 runs in 403 T20 matches, with nine centuries and a healthy strike rate of 134.31.

Kohli, 36, is now only the fifth batsman in the world to reach the 13,000-run mark, joining the likes of West Indies’ Chris Gayle and Kieron Pollard, England’s Alex Hales, and Pakistan’s Shoaib Malik. He also became the second fastest to this milestone, behind Gayle (381 innings), reaching the mark in his 386th innings.

“I tried to innovate a bit, tried to play different shots off spin as well and then tried to hit different areas of the ground. You need to keep evolving your game and keep up with the demands of the situation in T20 cricket,” said the former RCB captain after his knock, which helped his team break a streak of six consecutive defeats against Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede.

Delhi’s presence in LSG
While Delhi Capitals have begun well, other Delhi cricketers are also shaping the fate of rival franchises. Several Delhi players, past and present, are contributing to Lucknow SuperGiants, with Pant at the forefront as captain.

Besides Pant, whose record-breaking auction grabbed headlines, the LSG squad features Delhi-based hard-hitting batsmen Ayush Badoni and Himmat Singh, pacer Mayank Yadav, leg-spinner Digvesh Singh Rathi — a standout from the 2024 Delhi Premier League (DPL) — and pacer Prince Yadav, another DPL find who played under Pant for Purani Delhi 6 in the August-September T20 tournament.

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Among the support staff, assistant coaches Vijay Dahiya and Rajat Bhatia bring further Delhi flavour. Even LSG CEO Vinod Bisht has Delhi roots, having previously worked in the Delhi Capitals’ management.

While Pant has yet to make a significant impact in LSG’s first four matches, Rathi has turned heads with his distinctive bowling action. He made a sensational IPL debut by dismissing Delhi Capitals captain Axar Patel with just his third delivery. However, Rathi has also been fined twice for excessive celebrations breaching the IPL code of conduct.

Tickets, but no accommodation
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has issued central IPL accreditation to presidents and secretaries of all its affiliates, allowing them to watch matches at every venue. However, officials wishing to attend games outside their home grounds must arrange their own accommodation, as the BCCI has not offered hotel stays, said a source.

(The writer is an award-winning journalist based in Delhi and has covered sports for over three decades)