New season, same old habits: Where does it go wrong for Delhi in IPL?

Lack of bottle, the never-ending quest for a winning combination, imbalanced squad, poor management decisions: One may run out of fingers to count listing out the reasons behind why a franchise from Delhi has failed to reach an Indian Premier League final.

Ahead of this season, they were rebranded under a new name, a young skipper (who took over half-way through the previous season), eye-catching additions, and a new owner. Throw in yesteryear stalwarts like Sourav Ganguly, Ricky Ponting and Mohammad Kaif on the bench, and one expected the results to come.

But the same old problems, though, continue to plague Delhi Capitals. During their tame defeat against Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Feroz Shah Kotla on Thursday, a desperate Ponting was seen barking out instructions from the sidelines. Barring a brief spell towards the end of the game, where Hyderabad threatened to throw a certain victory away, there was little fight from the Capitals.

A jarring lack of application was one of the focal points here. There were early signs that it was not going to be a high-scoring wicket but baring the helpless Shreyas Iyer, it seemed as if hitting their way out of trouble was a plan Delhi put a lot of faith into. That is, if they had a concrete plan when they were put into bat.

That too, coming on the back of an inexplicable collapse against Kings XI Punjab and almost contriving to lose against Kolkata Knight Riders. Of course, on that night, they had Kagiso Rabada’s brilliance in the Super Over to save them from the blushes. There was no hero this time, and before Delhi could regroup and plot Hyderabad’s downfall, Jonny Bairstow’s blinder had already taken the game away from them.

The dependency on a couple of big names to regularly bail them out of trouble is another bad habit they have inherited from the Dardevils regime. For the uninitiated, the Delhi franchise with dark blue kits had some of the finest names from modern-day cricket grace their dugout. Almost all of them, whether it was David Warner, AB de Villiers, Glenn Maxwell or Mohammad Shami to a lesser degree, seemed to have found success after leaving the capital city.

One dimensional

It’s early days but the formula has revolved around Shikhar Dhawan anchoring the innings and the explosiveness of young Indian turks Iyer, Prithvi Shaw and Rishabh Pant to help them to big totals. It comes as no surprise that it has been Pant and Shaw’s brilliance that set the tone for the two wins that they have had so far.

Heads rolled after the embarrassing loss against Punjab, and despite having rejiged their lower order, the result was no different. Without question, the Delhi top-order is packed with match-winners, but there was very little game sense – a facet that can be spoken about during all their losses.

And the statistics don’t make for good reading either. Barring Mumbai Indians, Delhi are comfortably second best in head-to-head meetings among the existing franchises. And they have dangerously flirted with being the whipping boys of the league in recent years, having finished sixth or lower on every occasion following the 2012 season.

Numbers, though, are only a part of the story behind Delhi’s engine to get up and running. And on a given day, percentages matter very little in the ephemeral nature of Twenty20 cricket. A blinder from Pant – as was the case last year in the corresponding fixture against Hyderabad – can throw past records out of the window.

However, perceptions do play a role in sport at times. How often have we heard Kobe Bryant’s LA Lakers, Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United or the New Zealand rugby teams over generations beating their opponents even before a match was underway. Success gave way for more success. The IPL has its own examples with Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings setting the pace. When the two three-time champions face-off, it is dubbed as the El Clasico of the league.

What next?

The unimpressive merry-go-round of personnel over the years may eventually give way for a more stable core in the future, if they play their cards right. These are still early days for Delhi but the trigger-happy nature of the past – which resulted in one heavyweight personality walking out of the door and giving way for another – may . still have its after-effects on this setup.

There is no shortage of talent in the squad, which has been the case during most seasons. Perhaps, they could have entered the market for another quality spin option to support Axar Patel. Despite his potential, these are early days for teenager Sandeep Lamichhane and Amit Mishra may not be a straightforward pick anymore. With Trent Boult missing out, does Rabada have enough support around him? Ishant Sharma has come a long way in Tests for India but still has a lot to prove in white-ball cricket.

There are problems that go beyond just a few brittle middle-order collapses. In a similar vein, Royal Challengers Bangalore have also flattered to deceive although they have three runners-up finishes to talk about.

Delhi’s search for establishing an aura of a side which is capable to breaking into the playoffs consistently continues. They have tried nearly every trick in the book for 12 years. Elsewhere, Chennai, Mumbai and Kolkata have a core which drives them to the latter stages nearly every year.

Building one and fine-tuning it will take another season or two. As for this year, a clear solution to Delhi’s problems continue to be banking on a couple of stars to power them over the line. But will that be enough, and for how long?