The Delhi Capitals had a peculiar IPL season; one minute they were on their way to their second consecutive IPL final, and the next they were eliminated. The Delhi Capitals were the team to beat throughout the group rounds, as they defeated practically every other franchise this season with the exception of Royal Challengers Bangalore, who defeated them twice in the process.
Additionally, Delhi Capitals players performed well throughout the season on an individual level, with Shikhar Dhawan and Avesh Khan placing in the top five of the Orange Cup and Purple Cup rankings, respectively.
With just a few more balls, Rishabh Pant’s squad was eliminated from contention for a spot in the IPL final. Earlier in the tournament, CSK defeated them on the third-to-last ball of the match, and then in Qualifier 2, Rahul Tripathi struck the match-winning six on the final ball of the game to give them the victory.
The pinnacle
When the group stage came to a close, they were sitting at top of the table with 20 points to their name. As previously said, they have beaten practically every team in the league this season with the exception of the Royal Challengers Bangalore. Their victory against CSK in the group stage, on the other hand, was a true champion-like effort. First, their bowlers limited CSK to 139 runs, and then the DC hitters chased down the mark in 19.4 overs to win the match.
Lowest point
When they lost to Royal Challengers Bangalore in the last match of the group stage, they were effectively done for the season. When RCB needed 15 runs off the final over, they turned to KS Bharat, who struck Avesh Khan for a six off the penultimate ball to give RCB a two-wicket victory against DC. After then, the Delhi Capitals were never the same again.
The captaincy decision
After Shreyas Iyer was ruled out with a shoulder injury, Rishabh Pant was elevated to the position of captain, and he quickly settled into his new role. His batting performance also improved as a result of his decision to refrain from too aggressive hitting tactics. Even when Shreyas Iyer returned to the team, it came as no surprise that DC opted to keep him on as captain. Is this the makings of a future India captain?
Player with the highest value
Avesh Khan, perhaps? Shikhar Dhawan, perhaps? Anrich Nortje, perhaps? In the race for the Most Valuable Player, there are several competitors. In the end, Avesh Khan ended with 24 wickets to his credit, placing him as the second-highest wicket-taker of the year. Shikhar Dhawan concluded the season as one of the top five run-getters in the world, thanks to another season of 400+ runs and his experience as an opener.
Then there’s Anrich Nortje, a bowler known for his lightning-fast delivery that often caused problems for opposing hitters. He finished with an economy rate of 6.16, which was the best of any bowler who had bowled more than 25 overs this season up to that point.
The worst kind of disappointment
With 587 runs, 489 runs, and 419 runs, Shikhar Dhawan, Prithvi Shaw, and Rishabh Pant were the top three batsmen in the league for DC during the season. None of the other batters reached the 250-run milestone throughout the game.
Final word on the season
They have had a successful season, but the trophy continues to escape them. Additionally, this season assisted Rishabh Pant in establishing himself as a leading figure as well as a responsible hitter.
After the end of the season, Delhi Capitals posted a tweet with an image that featured, Shikhar Dhawan, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant and Kagiso Rabada. They captioned the tweet as, “We gave it our all and fell one step short of the final in #IPL2021 But… the sun will rise on another IPL season in 2022, and DC will be Ready for Redemption#YehHaiNayiDilli”
So, fans have started speculating that Delhi Capitals will be retaining these 4 players in IPL 2022. As reports have been coming out that the IPL franchises will be able to retain four players ahead of the mega auction. Out of the four, only one overseas player can be retained.
Here is the tweet:
We gave it our all and fell one step short of the final in #IPL2021 😞
But… the sun will rise on another IPL season in 2022, and DC will be Ready for Redemption 🌅💙#YehHaiNayiDilli pic.twitter.com/3h1OVSXHFP
— Delhi Capitals (@DelhiCapitals) October 21, 2021
