Delhi Capitals (DC) captain Rishabh Pant believes his one-match suspension for slow over rate may have cost his team a spot in the IPL playoffs. Pant missed the crucial match against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), a game considered a ‘must-win’ for Delhi's playoff chances. The loss to RCB was a double blow for the Capitals. Not only did they lose the match by a significant margin of 47 runs, but it also hurt their net run rate. Now, despite clinching a 19-run win over Lucknow Super Giants on May 14, DC's playoff qualification hinges on the results of other teams' matches. They'll have to wait and see if those results fall in their favor. DC are currently at fifth place in the points table with 14 points.
We had a better chance of qulifying if…: Pant
After winning the match against LSG, Pant said that DC had a btter chance of qualifying if he would have had a chance to play in the match against RCB. Notably, DC skipper Pant faced disciplinary action from the BCCI for repeated slow-over rate offenses. Pant was suspended for one match and fined Rs 30 lakh for violating the IPL's Code of Conduct. This was Pant's third slow-over rate offense of the season, with the final offense occurring during DC's match against RR in Delhi.
"I wouldn't say we would have definitely won the game if I had played. But we had a better chance of qualifying if I would have had a chance to play in the last game against RCB," Pant said at the post-match presentation following DC's win.
The Delhi Capitals' journey in IPL 2024 was a tale of two halves. They started the season with a streak of inconsistent performances, failing to find a winning rhythm. However, towards the end, they managed to pull off a strong comeback, significantly improving their chances of reaching the playoffs.
This late surge was made even more impressive considering the challenges they faced. Injuries to key players like veteran pacers Ishant Sharma, Khaleel Ahmed, Mukesh Kumar, and explosive opener David Warner hampered their momentum throughout the season.
"We started the season with a lot of hope, but there were injuries, and ups and downs. But as a franchise, you can't complain all the time; you have to make use of what you have... There are some things which you can control, but some things which you can't," Pant added.
Talking about the match, DC kept their faint playoff hopes flickering with a narrow victory over LSG. Half-centuries from Abishek Porel (58) and Tristan Stubbs (57*) provided the foundation for DC's batting. Porel shared a quickfire 92-run stand with Shai Hope (38) to set the tone. Later, Stubbs unleashed a late flurry of boundaries (4 fours and 4 sixes) along with valuable partnerships with Rishabh Pant (33) and Axar Patel (14*) to propel DC to a competitive 208/4. The bowlers complemented the batsmen's efforts with a disciplined performance. They restricted Lucknow to 189/9, despite a valiant knock from Nicholas Pooran (61 off 27 balls) and an unbeaten 58 from Arshad Khan (33 balls). This loss all but eliminated LSG from playoff contention.
KL Rahul rues LSG's loss
Meanwhile, losing skipper KL Rahul said that loss of wickets in the powerplay throughout the season has prevented LSG from utilising big-hitters like Marcus Stoinis and Nicholas Pooran.
“I feel the wicket remained the same throughout the 40 overs. When we got JFM out in the first over we should have capitalized, but they - Hope and Porel - showed a lot of intent. We did well at the back end and 200 was a par total, we should have chased it down. This has been a problem right through the season - we keep losing a lot of wickets in the powerplay, we never get a solid start to get the likes of Stoinis and Pooran in, that is the big reason why we are in this position,” Rahul said at the post-match presentation after LSG's defeat.
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