"DC bottled this" - Fans unhappy with Delhi's approach while chasing 267 vs SRH in IPL 2024

Delhi Capitals (DC) suffered a massive 67-run loss against SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) in an IPL 2024 clash at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Saturday, April 20.

Rishabh Pant won the toss for Delhi and elected to field first. However, the decision backfired as Hyderabad were off to a blistering start. They were 125/0 after six overs, registering the highest-ever powerplay score in T20 cricket.

While DC's opening batters Prithvi Shaw and David Warner were back in the hut early, Jake Fraser-McGurk and Abhishek Porel gave them some hope, scoring 62 and 42, respectively.

Delhi were 136/4 after nine overs. However, their scoring rate dipped considerably following Fraser-McGurk and Porel's dismissals. They were ultimately bundled out for 199 in 19.1 overs.

Several fans took to social media to express their displeasure over Delhi's batting performance. Here are some of the top reactions:

Certain fans were disappointed with DC skipper Rishabh Pant's batting exploits. The southpaw scored 44 runs off 35 balls at a strike rate of 125.71.

"Rishabh pant don't have ability to win a high scoring match. @BCCI please don't include him in #T20WC2024 squad." wrote a fan.

"When Rishabh Pant came to the crease, DC was in the match. Jake Fraser put them in competition, but Pant and Stubbs were unable to accelerate. This lack of intent will hamper Pant's WC call. Unpopular opinion,but he wasn't up to the mark." chimed in another fan.

"Rishabh Pant showing his real colours, RRR when he came vs now: When he came - 12.50 RRR Now - 17.50 Rishabh Pant single handly made DC lose this game with his slow batting. DK scored 83 off 35 balls in similar runchase when situation was worse." posted a user.

Delhi, who slumped to their fifth defeat in eight outings, are currently placed seventh in the IPL 2024 points table.

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"We would still have had a chance had we restricted them to 220-230" - Rishabh Pant on DC's loss

Speaking at the post-match presentation, Rishabh Pant suggested that Delhi could have ended up on the winning side had they restricted Hyderabad to 230.

He opined that the SRH openers took the game away from DC with their explosive batting in the powerplay.

"I think the only thought process behind it was there could be dew which didn't come, but we would still have had a chance had we restricted them to 220-230. The powerplay was the difference, they got (125) runs and we ended up playing catching up after that. The ball stopped more in the 2nd innings, that was more than we anticipated, but when we needed to chase 260, 270, you'll need to keep scoring," Pant said.

"Hopefully, we'll come up with more thought process and a clear mindset going forward. His batting has been phenomenal (on Fraser-McGurk), he's been nice for us, that's what we need to do as a team, be together, look at areas where we can improve going into the next game." he added.

Delhi will next take on Gujarat Titans (GT) at Arun Jaitley Stadium on Wednesday, April 24.