IPL 2024: 3 Changes Delhi Capitals should make to get back to winning ways

Delhi Capitals (DC) slipped to the bottom of the points table after suffering their fourth defeat in Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024. Meanwhile, MI completed their maiden win of the season and moved up to ninth position. Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium witnessed a high-scoring encounter with a total of 439 runs being scored.

Romario Shepherd was the man who made the difference as he hammered 32 runs in the final over against Anrich Nortje, shifting the momentum towards MI. The hosts were asked to bat first after losing the toss on a venue where the chasing team had an advantage. Rohit Sharma and Ishan Kishan got off to a flying start as the two added 75 runs in the powerplay. The former fell just one run short of his half-century and Suryakumar Yadav departed for a duck in his first match of the season.

Delhi managed to pick up quick wickets and MI slipped to 121/4. Hardik Pandya promoted himself to No.4 and he got a good companion in Tim David to form a crucial stand. Pandya scored 39 runs at a concerning strike rate, but David hung on till the end by striking at a rate of over 210. The final over heroics from Shepherd helped MI to set a competitive target of 235.

Also Check: IPL 2024: Delhi Capitals’ 2nd innings highlights against MI in Match 20

Batting in reply, DC suffered an early setback as David Warner fell cheaply. However, Prithvi Shaw and Abishek Porel kept the scoreboard moving with frequent boundaries. Shaw played a good hand with a fifty but his dismissal brought MI back to the game. Tristan Stubbs was sent ahead of Rishabh Pant and he was excellent today. However, his valiant knock (71* off 25 balls) went in vain as DC lost by 29 runs. 

Here are the 3 changes that Delhi Capitals need to make before their next match against LSG:

3. With Kuldeep out, Praveen Dubey should be in

DC badly missed the services of Kuldeep Yadav and Mukesh Kumar in the middle overs and death overs today. The left-arm wrist spinner suffered a groin injury which ruled him out of the match.

In Kuldeep's absence, DC should have picked Praveen Dubey as he could be used as an attacking option. Lalit Yadav was selected as a replacement against MI and he conceded 15 runs in just one over. If Kuldeep is missing the upcoming match, DC should pick Dubey to strengthen their bowling unit.

2. Better captaincy decisions from Rishabh Pant

Rishabh Pant's captaincy has not been impressive so far this season. He made a lot of mistakes in the last match against KKR and it is evident even today that better captaincy decisions are required from him. Notably, former England captain Michael Vaughan also opined that he does not see Pant as a future captaincy prospect for India.

The wicket-keeper batter should have utilized his bowlers more efficiently when the batters were coming out all guns blazing. As mentioned above, with Kuldeep Yadav out of the lineup, he should have added Praveen Dubey to have a wrist spinner in the team.

1. Bowlers need to show more composure

Analysing the performances of DC bowlers in the past two matches, they have leaked more runs in the last four overs. In the match against MI, they conceded 75 runs in the powerplay but managed to grab quick wickets to pull things back.

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However, in the final three overs, they lost the composure and conceded huge runs. Anrich Nortje’s final was the turning point of the match as the Proteas pacer gave away 32 runs, including four sixes and two fours. Bowlers need to hold their nerve in the death overs.