Hit or miss: DC's diminishing returns

A LITTLE over three weeks ago, things were looking rosy for Delhi Capitals (DC). The Axar Patel-led side had just pulled off a thrilling victory over Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, their fourth scalp in as many games of the ongoing edition of the Indian Premier League.

- ANMOL GURUNG @ Chennai

Delhi had opened their account with a nail-biting win over Lucknow Super Giants before going on to repeat the feat against Sunrisers Hyderabad and Chennai Super Kings. Incidentally, it was the first time DC had won their first four games in a season in the history of the competition. The confidence of players had understandably soared and DC were one of the early contenders to make it to the playoffs. That seems like a distant past now.

The narrative has flipped dramatically in the last nine days or so. After a couple of iffy games, Delhi are now fighting for survival. In the pre-match presser ahead of the game against Sunrisers Hyderabad, batter Karun Nair, mindful of their diminishing returns, had stressed on the importance of control.