'No excuses, better side won' - Delhi Capitals head coach Hemang Badani reflects on loss against MI

Delhi Capitals went down by 59 runs against Mumbai Indians in a must-win match at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai on Wednesday, May 21.

Batting first, the hosts scored 180/5 in 20 overs while Delhi Capitals, in reply were bowled out for 121 in 18.2 overs. 

Not shying away from the loss, Delhi Capitals Head Coach Hemang Badani reflected, “The game changed in the last two overs that we bowled. The 18 overs that were bowled by us were consistent and spot on. Our execution wasn't to our expectations in the end, and we ended up giving away 48 in 12 balls.

“We should have read the game better and should have understood that the surface was slower, could have gone to the cutters, could have also gone to bowl wide yorkers. You would expect bowlers of international level to come and nail the yorkers and if you don't do that, players like Suryakumar Yadav who have been around long enough, will punish you,” he added. 

Talking about the target and absence of skipper Axar Patel who had missed this game due to illness, the coach added, “With the way the ball spun, the target was a bit more than par. Anything around that 160-165 mark would have been a good total. No excuses and it's just that the better side won.

“But I would like to add here that someone like Axar Patel would have made a massive difference to us. A left-arm spinner on this surface would have been very helpful for us. Moreover, his left hand-batting would have also countered (Mitchell) Santner. But as I said, the better side won and I wish them well,” Badani pointed. 

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Reflecting on the IPL 2025 campaign, the 48-year-old said, “For me, it's a marathon. We had a great sprint to start with. We had a massive start to start. But then, we've also had games where I genuinely felt that we could have won and we just didn't finish those games. If you want to go to the playoffs, you want to ideally finish those games and if you are not able to do so, then you have no one else to blame but yourself. We as a side could have done better.”

Delhi Capitals will play their final game of the season against Punjab Kings on May 24, 2025 at Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur.