In their first IPL season as the Delhi Capitals, the team formerly known as the Daredevils finished rock bottom of the league standings. Last season, they flew to a third-place finish. The team’s history is one of mediocrity, having only made it to the playoffs three times as the Daredevils. Under the new owner who initiated the name change, though, the Capitals have gone from strength-to-strength in a very short spell.
This season, the whole league’s perception of the Delhi cricket team has changed, with them being talked about as playoff contenders before the first coin flip. Coming into the campaign, owner Parth Jindal made it clear that success this season would depend on the team finishing in the top-four of the league standings. Jandal says, “you are only as good as how high you finish in the league stage.” So, to show improvement, he’ll need to see a second or first-place finish.
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As the 2020 IPL in the UAE progressed, the Capitals have looked increasingly like potential champions, perhaps exceeding the new owner’s expectations.
Surging to the top:
The Delhi Capitals enjoyed a high-powered start to the season, which would only prove to be an indicator of their season to come. In the first game of their season, the Capitals and Kings XI Punjab put on a thrilling show, with Delhi only just scraping through with the victory via a super over.
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Through the first half of the season, the Capitals clocked in five wins and only two losses, dropping points to the Mumbai Indians and Sunrisers Hyderabad. Delhi continued to surge, all-but confirming their place in the playoffs by the ninth game of the season, even though the tenth game, against Punjab, resulted in a narrow loss. Even in the loss to the Kings XI, however, Shikhar Dhawan made history with his second century in two games.
It solidified Dhawan as the team’s leading batsman, but Shreyas Iyer and Rishabh Pant also boasted averages over 30.0. The Capitals have also been a menace in the attack: Kagiso Rabada had 21 wickets by the tenth match and a 14.33 average, while Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, and Anrich Nortje also have sub-25.0 averages and eight or wickets each.
Favored for their first-ever crown:
With the 2020 season on the horizon, it was the Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings who led the way among pundits, following their 2019 final that was decided by just one run. As the season unraveled, it became clear that the Super Kings weren’t going anywhere, leaving room for another top contender.
As the reigning champions are still in the mix, the Indians are always going to be the preference for onlookers, sitting at 2.75 to win the IPL. That said, the impressive Capitals were just behind at 3.60, with the Royal Challengers Bangalore a nudge back at 3.75. While you can see the full list here, the betting platforms in India with the best bonuses are leaning towards Delhi and Mumbai.
Both the Capitals and Indians have superb weapons on both sides of the ball, and anything can happen in the playoffs, but history would suggest that Mumbai will miss out on the title. The Mumbai Indians have indeed won four of the last seven IPL titles; however, they haven’t ever won back-to-back titles, nor have they returned the final the year after winning the trophy.
Not only does it look as though the Delhi Capitals will meet the lofty expectations of the team owner, but they may even surpass them to create club history.
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