Virtual IPL 'Quarter Final' clash for Rishabh Pant's Men

Delhi Capitals is peaking at the right stage in the IPL 2022, winning 3 of the last four games. The team has gone through a lot this season, with players missing out on matches due to Covid, injured players, or decisions not going in their favour. The Rishabh Pant-led side has their playoffs qualification hopes in their own hands with 14 points from 13 games. A win in the next match against Mumbai Indians will ensure that the 2020's finalists are in the last four for the 4th consecutive year. 

Strengths for the Delhi Capitals

The Delhi Capitals contain one of the best batting lines up, with some quality players giving excellent strength in the batting department. Prithvi Shaw and David Warner's opening partnership has become an essential factor for the team's strong batting line. In the absence of their crucial batter Shikhar Dhawan, the opening position was a big concern for the team; however, David Warner has proved himself as the perfect contender for this position. The destructive opening pair of Prithvi Shaw and David Warner has become DC's biggest strength this season. It's not just about the openers, but DC also has a great batting line-up with skipper Rishabh Pant, Mitchell Marsh, and the West Indies' power in the form of Rovman Powell. Marsh's inclusion in the playing XI balances the middle-order as he is also a swashbuckling batter and regimented bowler. With this strong batting line-up, conquering huge targets is not big for the Capitals.

Along with the batting department, DC has shown quite an impressive bowling display in the tournament. The duo of Anrich Nortje and Axar Patel is the main asset in DC's bowling unit. Along with these two, Shardul Thakur has also shown excellent performance with the ball this season. The quality of bowling attack DC has shown this season and how the bowlers have performed is appreciable. The bowlers have not let the batters getaway or score easily by picking wickets at regular intervals. Suppose it's their spinner Axar Patel in the powerplay bowling tight lines. In that case, it's Kuldeep Yadav in the middle overs with an impressive economy rate of 7.11, who picks a wicket every nine balls, and Khaleel Ahmed in the death overs with just 8.4 runs per over who derail the opposition.

Some significant concerns for the Capitals

With one of the best batting departments for the Rishabh Pant-led side, the most significant weak spot is the lack of an opening partner alongside David Warner. With Prithvi Shaw out with illness, they have had to make some changes at the top, but Sarfaraz Khan's striking in the last match will likely convince the management to persist with him.

Apart from an opener, there is a lack of quality spinners in their squad. Although the franchise retained their finger spinner Axar Patel, they let go of their experienced spinners like Ravichandran Ashwin. With the absence of quality spinners, the Capitals lack options in the spin department. Though they have bagged Kuldeep Yadav in the mega auction, he doesn't seem to be a reliable option despite his talent due to his inconsistencies in picking wickets. Also, Khaleel Ahmed hasn't found any partner in the slog overs, and the team is seen leaking crucial runs in death overs. Shardul Thakur, despite his 13 wickets, has conceded runs at more than nine runs per over.

Furthermore, despite having an explosive line-up, Delhi often suffers in scoring or chasing. Although Rovman Powell and Mitchell Marsh have played some great knocks, their inconsistency is a big concern for DC. Skipper Rishabh Pant has failed to fire much from his bat this season. The side will need to quickly figure out their winning XI and find the players in the middle-order who can take them over the line in crunch situations.

Delhi's journey this season has been full of ups and downs. Delhi Capitals has to win their last match against MI to qualify for the tournament. They will be eligible for the playoffs if they win their final game because of their superior NRR. So, it is a virtual knockout for the Delhi Capitals. If Delhi Capitals beat Mumbai Indians, Royal Challengers Bangalore will bow out of the tournament. Led by a young skipper, whom any side would be enviable of, Delhi has a chance to enter the playoffs and pick up their maiden IPL trophy this season