This article is part of our IPL Preview series.
Delhi Capitals is one of the eight franchises which will take part in the 12th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), beginning from March 23 in Chennai. The team will be led by young left-handed batsman Shreyas Iyer, who will have the coaching assistance of former Australia captain Ricky Ponting. Delhi is one of the three franchises who are yet to win the competition and will be hoping to do much better than they did in the previous seasons.
Previously known as Delhi Daredevils, the franchise have not reached playoffs since 2012, which shows that there are calls for major improvement in how things are managed overall. During the 11th edition of the IPL, Delhi finished at the bottom of the table after managing to win just five out of the total of 14 games.
Alongside Iyer, the team will have the services of New Zealand's Colin Munro, former South Africa batsman Colin Ingram, veteran opener Shikhar Dhawan and young sensations Prithvi Shaw and Rishabh Pant in the batting department to put decent amount of runs on the board, whereas on the bowling front, the dependency will be on the likes of New Zealand star pacer Trent Boult, South Africa's pace sensation Kagiso Rabada, India's veteran pacer Ishant Sharma and wrist-spin duo of Amit Mishra and Nepal's Sandeep Lamichhanne. The team will also have services of South Africa's Chris Morris and India's Axar Patel in the all-rounders department as the duo can bring a lot of stability in the team.
Key Facts
Delhi's highest score in the competition is 231-4 came in the match against Kings XI Punjab in 2011, whereas team's lowest score of 66 came in the match against Mumbai Indians in the 2017 edition. Highest team score against Delhi of 222-5 was registered by Chennai Super Kings while playing at MA Chidambaram Stadium, whereas lowest team score of 92 was registered by Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium in 2012.
Delhi's largest victory in terms of runs came in the match against Rising Pune Supergiant where they ended up victorious by 97 runs in 2017, whereas their biggest margin of defeat in terms of runs came in the match against Mumbai Indian, where Rohit Sharma-led unit thrashed them by 146 runs in 2017.
Delhi's most impressive win percentage of 50 per cent is against Mumbai where they managed to win 11 out of the 22 matches played, whereas their worst win percentage of 27.27 per cent is against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) where they only managed to win six out of 22 played. Highest individual score of 128 not out by a Delhi player was registered by wicketkeeper-batsman Pant, which he did in the match against Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2018, whereas highest individual score of 128 not out against Delhi was registered by RCB's Chris Gayle in 2012.
Captain Iyer hold a record for the most number of runs scored by a Delhi player as he smashed 684 runs in the 2018 edition. Previously, that record was hold by former Indian opener Gautam Gambhir (534 runs in 2007-08 season). Former Indian opener Virender Sehwag holds the record for most number of runs (2,382) scored by any Delhi player in the IPL, whereas Australia's David Warner holds the record for most centuries (2) for Delhi in IPL history.
Best bowling figures of 5-17 in a match for Delhi was registered by leg-spinner Mishra against Deccan Chargers in 2007-08 season, whereas former South Africa pacer Morne Morkel holds the record for most number of wickets (25) in one season for the franchise. Leg-spinner Mishra also holds the record for the most number of wickets (90) by any Delhi bowler in the IPL history.
