3 major reasons behind DC's elimination from IPL 2025 ft. Top order woes

Delhi Capitals (DC) went down to Mumbai Indians (MI) by 59 runs in match number 63 of IPL 2025 at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Wednesday, May 21. Following the defeat, DC were knocked out of the playoffs race, an unexpected end to their campaign after they began IPL 2025 with four consecutive wins.

Bowling first after winning the toss against Mumbai at the Wankhede Stadium, Delhi conceded 180-5 in their 20 overs. They were abysmal in the chase as they were knocked over for 121 in 18.2 overs, with Jasprit Bumrah and Mitchell Santner picking up three wickets each.

As mentioned earlier, DC began their IPL 2025 campaign with four consecutive wins. However, they have won only two of their last nine matches, with one of the victories coming in the Super Over. Delhi were lucky to escape with a no result against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in an away game due to rain. They haven't won a match in IPL 2025 since April 22.

In the wake of DC being eliminated from the playoffs race, we look at three main reasons behind their inability to clinch a top four slot.

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#1 DC's top order failed to deliver the goods

The biggest factor behind Delhi failing to qualify for the IPL 2025 playoffs is the poor performance of their top order. DC have never had a settled opening pair in the tournament. They have tried various combinations, but none of them worked. As a result, DC have failed to capitalize on the powerplay game after game.

If we take a look at individual performances, KL Rahul has scored 504 runs in 12 innings at an average of 56 and a strike rate of 148.67. However, his effectiveness has been undermined to some extent since he was moved up and down the order.

More significantly, Delhi have struggled because Rahul has not got enough support from the other top order batters. Abishek Porel has shown glimpses of his talent, but has 301 runs in 13 innings, with just one 50-plus score to his credit. Faf du Plessis has been poor, managing 179 runs in eight innings at strike rate of 120.94. Karun Nair has had one blazing knock against MI, but nothing thereafter.

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#2 Inconsistency of pacers

Delhi's pace bowling department has also let the team down, allowing the opposition to get away to flying starts a number of times. As a result, DC have never quite managed to build pressure on opposition batters. In some matches, spinners led a fightback for them, but even they have gone off the boil lately.

If we look at the performance of Delhi's fast bowlers in IPL 2025, Mitchell Starc claimed 14 wickets in 10 innings, but did not return once the tournament resumed after a brief suspension. The left-arm seamer did claim a five-fer, but was expensive, going at an economy rate of over 10.

Among others, Mukesh Kumar has claimed 11 wickets in 11 innings and also has an economy rate in excess of 10. Dushmantha Chameera has picked up only four wickets in five innings at an economy rate of 11.40, while Mohit Sharma has two wickets in seven innings at an economy rate of 10. Left-arm pacer T Natajaran registered figures of 0-49 in the three overs he bowled against GT.

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#3 Inability to capitalize on momentum

It's not like DC have not had their moments in IPL 2025 over the last few weeks. They have had their chances to capitalize on the early momentum, but have failed to take advantage of being in positive situations more than once.

In the match against MI on April 13 at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, they were in complete command at 119-1 in a chase of 206. DC crumbled to 193 all out in 19 overs to lose the game by 12 runs. Shockingly, the game ended with three consecutive run outs. Delhi's winning streak came to an end with this defeat and their campaign was never the same after that.

In the game against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on April 29, they were well-placed at 136-3 in a chase of 205. However, they lost their way and ended up finishing on 190-9. On Wednesday as well, Delhi's bowlers reduced MI to 123-5. However, they conceded 48 runs in the last two overs and completely undid all the good work of the first 18 overs. Those two overs, though, defined DC's campaign.