Delhi Capitals (DC) were outplayed by an in-form Mumbai Indians (MI) at Wankhede Stadium on May 21. The 59-run loss led to DC getting eliminated from the playoffs race. Reacting to the heavy defeat, DC co-owner Parth Jindal apologised to the franchise's fans, admitted the sorry stage of affairs in the second half of their campaign and hinted at changes.
"Sorry to all @DelhiCapitals fans - like you, i too am reeling from the second half of the season. What started so well ended extremely poorly. There are positives to take from this campaign but for now, all focus on the next game which we need to win. Post the season there will need to be a lot of introspection on a lot of aspects," Jindal wrote on X.
DC captain Axar Patel was unwell since the past two days. In his absence, Faf du Plessis led the side. He had just six bowling options. While DC contained MI matters for 18 overs, it took a turn for worse as Mukesh Kumar and Dushmantha Chameera conceded 48 runs in the last two overs. In the run chase, DC suffered a batting collapse on a sticky wicket which led to their elimination.
DC rues not having a good opening combination
In the post-match press conference, DC head coach Hemang Badani admitted that the opening pair was a worry for them throughout the season.
"A settled opening pair is only possible when your opening pair gives you a start," Badani told the reporters. "If you don't get starts, you are bound to make changes to try and fill that gap, fill that void. While other sides have had great powerplay with the bat, we haven't had those, unfortunately. Opening at the top was a worry for us."
Australia's Jake Fraser-McGurk who was a revelation in the previous season failed to justify the Rs 9 crore price tag and scored just 55 runs from six games. DC tried Abhisek Porel, Faf du Plessis, Karun Nair and KL Rahul in the opening combination but did not get a consistent result from them.
Fraser-McGurk and left-arm pacer Mitchell Starc did not return when IPL 2025 resumed, adding to their problems.