After back-to-back losses for Chennai Super Kings, something we haven't seen in this season, Delhi Capitals made history as they became the first-ever IPL franchise to beat Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings twice in the same season.
The fact that Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings are always in a league of their own, the franchises are always considered to be further away than the rest of the IPL teams almost every season.
However, what Delhi Capitals achieved yesterday, it took 13 years for a team to achieve that. Beating both teams in the same season is not a problem but beating both of them twice is even rarer.
Not just that, with the win last night, Delhi also overtook Chennai to claim the first spot in the IPL Points Table. Let's have a look at some possible reasons for Delhi's improvement in the last 2 seasons.
Great recruitment
Over the last couple years, Delhi have been smart in their recruitment. It began from the very top, with former Australian captain, Ricky Ponting being appointed as Delhi's head coach. In the same year, they bought Prithvi Shaw, Rishabh Pant, Shreyas Iyer, Kagiso Rabada, and Avesh Khan along with the veteran Amit Mishra in the auction.
In the forthcoming auctions, Delhi seemed to be more strategic in buying and selling players and bought players who have been instrumental in the team's success.
In 2019, the changes started to get more significant as Shikhar Dhawan, a prolific figure in the Sunrisers Hyderabad camp was roped in, in exchange for three players, Shahbaz Nadeem, Abhishek Sharma, and Vijay Shankar.
In the same year, they bought Axar Patel from Punjab Kings (then Kings XI Punjab), after finishing in the playoffs in the 2019 season, Ponting showed his experience, while the squad showed their credibility too.
Assessing the length and line in 🇦🇪, two noteworthy performances and 4⃣ crucial points for the team 🔥
— Delhi Capitals (@DelhiCapitals) October 5, 2021
📹 | Here's what @akshar2026 had to say after his back-to-back Man of the Match awards 💙#YehHaiNayiDilli #DCvCSK #IPL2021 @TheJSWGroup pic.twitter.com/Lp9zEWQIvW
In the 2020 season, they stepped up I the auction, buying Ravichandran Ashwin, Marcus Stoinis, Shimron Hetmyer, and Ajinkya Rahane, building a perfect team with great players in every position. The result of this was the fact that they played their first-ever IPL final but lost to a dominant Mumbai side.
Despite the loss, Delhi has held their heads high and have been performing brilliantly this season, losing just three out of 13 matches in the IPL 2021.
Chances for a maiden IPL trophy
Well, after beating the likes of Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings twice in the same season, Delhi have proved that they are no less than them and will only get stronger with every passing season.
They do seem shaky, and they are yet to avert blunders like they couldn't last season's final and in their last games against both Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians.
They may have won these games but they knew the fact that they had allowed their opponents to make a comeback, something champions don't let happen.
As far as this season is concerned, Delhi's chances are not the greatest but they are surely one of the contenders to feature in the finals which will be their second in a row.
What are your thoughts? Can Delhi take the trophy home this season? Follow Cricwizz on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter for more updates. Stay tuned with Cricwizz for the best cricket content.
