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"We Could Have Won": DC Head Coach Points Out What Went Wrong After Dream Start

Soumyajit Dutta

Delhi Capitals team [Source: @DelhiCapitals/X]Delhi Capitals team [Source: @DelhiCapitals/X]

In a high-stakes virtual playoff decider, Delhi Capitals (DC) and Mumbai Indians (MI) clashed to determine the final qualifier for IPL 2025’s knockout stage, with Gujarat Titans (GT), Punjab Kings (PBKS), and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) having already secured their spots. 

The encounter marked a dramatic reversal of fortunes. MI, after winning just two of their first six games, surged late, while DC squandered a dominant start. Delhi's coach, Hemang Badani opened up on the missed chance to make it to the playoffs and probably lift the trophy for the first time.

Head Coach Pinpoints DC's Shotcomings

Notably, the Capitals had five wins in six matches mid-season but collapsed spectacularly, including botching chases like needing 29 off 16 balls and crumbling from 128/1 while pursuing 206. These slip-ups forced this do-or-die showdown. 

DC head coach Hemang Badani reflected on the campaign’s unravelling while rueing on the missed opportunity.

“For me, it’s a marathon. I mean we had a great sprint, a great start. If my memory serves me right, we won five out of our first six games. It is a great place to be,” Badani said, as quoted by cricket.com.

Badani then highlighted the critical failures that led to the mid-season struggle and sudden slump.

“Since then, we’ve struggled to find that next win...there were games I felt we could have won but didn’t finish well. For instance, in Mumbai at Delhi, where Karun Nair got 90-odd (he got 89), we were cantering along. Even against KKR, we had to get 60-odd in six overs with seven wickets in hand, and we lost...ideally, we should have won those games if we were to make the playoffs,” Badani concluded.

DC's Unwanted Exit From IPL 2025

Had Delhi capitalized on those opportunities, their playoff fate wouldn’t have hinged on this final game. Instead, their 59-run defeat at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium sealed their elimination, extending their wait for a maiden IPL title and etching their name in an unwanted list in the record books.

The loss underscored DC’s recurring inability to close matches, while MI’s late surge reaffirmed their knack for peaking when it matters.