A few days after the heartbreak, it all comes into perspective. The 2022 season was an absolute roller-coaster for the DC boys. Unfortunately, we didn’t finish where we wanted to, but there are a lot of things to take back from the campaign.
This 2022 campaign will be worth remembering as a fresh foundation was laid by Ponting and Co. in the Mega Auction, making sure they retained and picked the right players to form a balanced squad. All the matches of the league stage were hosted in four stadiums across Mumbai, Navi Mumbai and Pune keeping in mind the COVID-19 scenario, and there was a lot of hope among the DC fans and players as they were raring to go.
A DC Recap of IPL 2022
With the unavailability of the star players like Warner, Marsh, and Nortje for the first few games, the DC side looked tenuous on paper. But the tone of the first match was set right as Kuldeep Yadav starred with a 3-fer on IPL return, while our all-rounders Lalit Yadav, Shardul Thakur and Axar Patel rose to the occasion and scripted a historic and improbable victory, chasing 178 from 72/5 near the halfway mark. The DC Tigers were off to a roaring win in their season opener.
The next two games against the two new teams resulted in consecutive losses, pegging our campaign back.
However, the 4th match against KKR, boosted the confidence of the team as the boys displayed an all-round show. First, the pair of Shaw and Warner both scored 50s and stitched together a brilliant opening stand to help us post a mammoth 215/5. Then, Kuldeep ran through the batting order of his former side, picking up a heartening four-fer.
The next game saw DC suffer another loss at the hands of the Royal Challengers. But, as would become the norm till the fag end of the league stages, the Capitals followed each of these losses with a comeback win. It was a statement victory against Punjab Kings, with four of our bowlers picking up 2-fers and Shaw and Warner getting done with a short chase of 116 at a canter.
The first clash with Rajasthan also witnessed a lot of drama, and it was another case of ‘So near, yet so far.’ In a high-scoring battle Buttler’s century lifted RR to 222. The DC batters chipped in with cameos before Powell went all out at the death and almost brought the game home with his fierce and clean hitting.
In the first half of the season, the team had managed to win 3 out of 7 games and a lot of work was left to do.
The second half of the season started with another clinical win against KKR. Kuldeep Yadav registered his second 4-wicket haul against his former franchise, this time an unbelievable 4/14. Mustafizur Rahman displayed his incredible skills at the death with 3/18.
Lots of memorable performances came in the second half of our league stage, one of the foremost being Warner’s classy 92* off just 58 balls against a team he spent many years with, Sunrisers Hyderabad. That match will be remembered for Powell Power’s explosive and unbeaten 67* too, as both the batters picked apart the likes of Umran Malik and Co.
It all came down to the last three must-win games, where the DC Men in Blue managed to pull-off the first two with ease. Mitchell Marsh went on a rampage with back-to-back match-winning knocks. The 89 off 62 balls against RR and 63 off 48 balls against PBKS, coupled with Lord Shardul’s 4-wicket haul, put us in a position where he held our fate in our own hands.
We needed one last win against Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium in our final league stage match of the season to book a slot in the IPL Playoffs. Alas, it wasn’t meant to be.
Nevertheless, we’ll take back the countless memories and some real positives going into 2023.
The Positives and Talking Points from IPL 2022
The Aussie Dominance
There was one reason why the T20 World Cup Player of the Series and Player of the Final were bought by DC at the auction - to dominate attacks. And that, to the fans’ delight, they did.
Even after joining the squad late, David Warner and Mitchell Marsh made sure their presence was felt in every game they played
The Southpaw from Australia missed the first two games but for the rest of the 12 games, he provided electrifying starts and scored 400+ runs for the 8th time in his IPL career, becoming the first overseas player to do so. Warner was as classy as ever, compiling five sumptuous half-centuries and three of them in a row, at a season average of 48 and a SR of over 150.
On the other hand, Mitchell Marsh faced a lot of hurdles throughout the season. First he had to recover from his injury, and after he did that he had to battle COVID as well. Despite all these troubles, once he got out of quarantine, he went on to make the best out of the rest of the matches.
He hit them out of the park for fun, scoring 251 runs and 14 sixes in 8 matches, with two match-winning half-centuries in crucial encounters. Half of those 14 sixes came in just one innings, a truly remarkable 89 in tough conditions against Rajasthan Royals.
It was in that very match that the Australian T20 World Cup winning duo displayed their best together, with a mammoth 144-run stand, making it the highest partnership for DC in IPL 2022.
Can’t wait to see more of the Bull and the Bison together in IPL 2023!
The Kuldeep Redemption
In a season where several other wrist spinners caught the eye, Kuldeep was a major talking point. After having spent the best of 2 years on the sidelines at KKR, the Spin Wizard started his DC career with a ROAR, picking up 20+ wickets for the first time in his IPL career.
In just about every game, Kuldeep reminded fans and experts alike just why he is such an exciting prospect. He picked up 21 wickets in total, at an average below 20 and an economy of 8.43. He saved his best for his former franchise, with 8 of his 21 wickets coming in the two games against KKR with figures of 4/35 and 4/14.
It was a redemption that will be talked about for ages to come, and we look forward to see what he has in store for us!
The RP² Factor
Rishabh Pant and Rovman Powell, both known for hitting the ball hard and long didn’t have the best of starts this season. But as the tournament went ahead, Captain Pant played some quick-fire cameos which included his special trademark shots to turn games our way. Despite not getting a big score, he ended up as the second-highest run-scorer for the DC Men in Blue this season.
Rovman Powell acted as the finisher for the team and his three consecutive 6s in the final over against RR which almost took us home will be remembered for a long time. A special innings of 67* from 35 against SRH came later in the tournament as he showcased his raw power with 6 sixes and 3 boundaries. The way he went after Umran Malik’s 157 kmph rockets in the final over will be forever etched in our memories.
The Rise of Khaleel Ahmed
Khaleel Ahmed has always had the talent, but up until this season it hasn’t translated into performances that got the cricketing fraternity talking. This season however, the left-arm pacer from Rajasthan was an absolute delight to watch with the new ball making it swing both in and out to trouble batters to no end.
After his consistent efforts and disciplined performances, he ended up with the most wickets by a DC pacer with 16 scalps in 10 games at an average under 20 and an economy of 8.04.
After getting retained, the right-handed opener from Mumbai made a lot of impact at the top of the order. He went on to score 283 runs in 10 innings at a whopping Strike Rate of 152.97, providing huge support to Davey in the innings they played together, and explosive starts for DC.
Unfortunately, his season was cut short due to typhoid, and he could only play 10 of the 14 games making us wonder what could have been.
Nonetheless, the Capitals management must be very proud of their decision to retain the Pocket Dynamo as he showed glimpses of his unique ability this season. The think tank, and the fans will be hoping for the Shaw-stopper to steal the show in 2023.
Bapu’s Batting Comes to the Fore
Axar Patel has always been one of the IPL’s best spinners. This season, he went past the milestone of 100 IPL wickets too. Doing well with the ball is expected of him.
But, his exploits with the bat rather than the ball are what will leave Ponting and Co. satisfied, and looking forward to next season. He always had batting ability, but he improved leaps and bounds with his range hitting and it really came to the fore in IPL 2022.
Coming lower down the order, he smashed 182 runs at an impressive average of 45.50 and an astonishing SR of 151.67. His ability to win games with the bat at the death was a massive positive for DC.
What’s in store from Bapu’s bat next year?
With all of these positives, a few areas to improve on, and a family-like atmosphere as always, we all know that the DC Tigers are more than capable of turning things around in IPL 2023. We will be waiting to witness just that.
We B.E.L.I.E.V.E.
A few days after the heartbreak, it all comes into perspective. The 2022 season was an absolute roller-coaster for the DC boys. Unfortunately, we didn’t finish where we wanted to, but there are a lot of things to take back from the campaign.
This 2022 campaign will be worth remembering as a fresh foundation was laid by Ponting and Co. in the Mega Auction, making sure they retained and picked the right players to form a balanced squad. All the matches of the league stage were hosted in four stadiums across Mumbai, Navi Mumbai and Pune keeping in mind the COVID-19 scenario, and there was a lot of hope among the DC fans and players as they were raring to go.
A DC Recap of IPL 2022
With the unavailability of the star players like Warner, Marsh, and Nortje for the first few games, the DC side looked tenuous on paper. But the tone of the first match was set right as Kuldeep Yadav starred with a 3-fer on IPL return, while our all-rounders Lalit Yadav, Shardul Thakur and Axar Patel rose to the occasion and scripted a historic and improbable victory, chasing 178 from 72/5 near the halfway mark. The DC Tigers were off to a roaring win in their season opener.
The next two games against the two new teams resulted in consecutive losses, pegging our campaign back.
However, the 4th match against KKR, boosted the confidence of the team as the boys displayed an all-round show. First, the pair of Shaw and Warner both scored 50s and stitched together a brilliant opening stand to help us post a mammoth 215/5. Then, Kuldeep ran through the batting order of his former side, picking up a heartening four-fer.
The next game saw DC suffer another loss at the hands of the Royal Challengers. But, as would become the norm till the fag end of the league stages, the Capitals followed each of these losses with a comeback win. It was a statement victory against Punjab Kings, with four of our bowlers picking up 2-fers and Shaw and Warner getting done with a short chase of 116 at a canter.
The first clash with Rajasthan also witnessed a lot of drama, and it was another case of ‘So near, yet so far.’ In a high-scoring battle Buttler’s century lifted RR to 222. The DC batters chipped in with cameos before Powell went all out at the death and almost brought the game home with his fierce and clean hitting.
In the first half of the season, the team had managed to win 3 out of 7 games and a lot of work was left to do.
The second half of the season started with another clinical win against KKR. Kuldeep Yadav registered his second 4-wicket haul against his former franchise, this time an unbelievable 4/14. Mustafizur Rahman displayed his incredible skills at the death with 3/18.
Lots of memorable performances came in the second half of our league stage, one of the foremost being Warner’s classy 92* off just 58 balls against a team he spent many years with, Sunrisers Hyderabad. That match will be remembered for Powell Power’s explosive and unbeaten 67* too, as both the batters picked apart the likes of Umran Malik and Co.
It all came down to the last three must-win games, where the DC Men in Blue managed to pull-off the first two with ease. Mitchell Marsh went on a rampage with back-to-back match-winning knocks. The 89 off 62 balls against RR and 63 off 48 balls against PBKS, coupled with Lord Shardul’s 4-wicket haul, put us in a position where he held our fate in our own hands.
We needed one last win against Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium in our final league stage match of the season to book a slot in the IPL Playoffs. Alas, it wasn’t meant to be.
Nevertheless, we’ll take back the countless memories and some real positives going into 2023.
The Positives and Talking Points from IPL 2022
The Aussie Dominance
There was one reason why the T20 World Cup Player of the Series and Player of the Final were bought by DC at the auction - to dominate attacks. And that, to the fans’ delight, they did.
Even after joining the squad late, David Warner and Mitchell Marsh made sure their presence was felt in every game they played
The Southpaw from Australia missed the first two games but for the rest of the 12 games, he provided electrifying starts and scored 400+ runs for the 8th time in his IPL career, becoming the first overseas player to do so. Warner was as classy as ever, compiling five sumptuous half-centuries and three of them in a row, at a season average of 48 and a SR of over 150.
On the other hand, Mitchell Marsh faced a lot of hurdles throughout the season. First he had to recover from his injury, and after he did that he had to battle COVID as well. Despite all these troubles, once he got out of quarantine, he went on to make the best out of the rest of the matches.
He hit them out of the park for fun, scoring 251 runs and 14 sixes in 8 matches, with two match-winning half-centuries in crucial encounters. Half of those 14 sixes came in just one innings, a truly remarkable 89 in tough conditions against Rajasthan Royals.
It was in that very match that the Australian T20 World Cup winning duo displayed their best together, with a mammoth 144-run stand, making it the highest partnership for DC in IPL 2022.
Can’t wait to see more of the Bull and the Bison together in IPL 2023!
The Kuldeep Redemption
In a season where several other wrist spinners caught the eye, Kuldeep was a major talking point. After having spent the best of 2 years on the sidelines at KKR, the Spin Wizard started his DC career with a ROAR, picking up 20+ wickets for the first time in his IPL career.
In just about every game, Kuldeep reminded fans and experts alike just why he is such an exciting prospect. He picked up 21 wickets in total, at an average below 20 and an economy of 8.43. He saved his best for his former franchise, with 8 of his 21 wickets coming in the two games against KKR with figures of 4/35 and 4/14.
It was a redemption that will be talked about for ages to come, and we look forward to see what he has in store for us!
The RP² Factor
Rishabh Pant and Rovman Powell, both known for hitting the ball hard and long didn’t have the best of starts this season. But as the tournament went ahead, Captain Pant played some quick-fire cameos which included his special trademark shots to turn games our way. Despite not getting a big score, he ended up as the second-highest run-scorer for the DC Men in Blue this season.
Rovman Powell acted as the finisher for the team and his three consecutive 6s in the final over against RR which almost took us home will be remembered for a long time. A special innings of 67* from 35 against SRH came later in the tournament as he showcased his raw power with 6 sixes and 3 boundaries. The way he went after Umran Malik’s 157 kmph rockets in the final over will be forever etched in our memories.
The Rise of Khaleel Ahmed
Khaleel Ahmed has always had the talent, but up until this season it hasn’t translated into performances that got the cricketing fraternity talking. This season however, the left-arm pacer from Rajasthan was an absolute delight to watch with the new ball making it swing both in and out to trouble batters to no end.
After his consistent efforts and disciplined performances, he ended up with the most wickets by a DC pacer with 16 scalps in 10 games at an average under 20 and an economy of 8.04.
After getting retained, the right-handed opener from Mumbai made a lot of impact at the top of the order. He went on to score 283 runs in 10 innings at a whopping Strike Rate of 152.97, providing huge support to Davey in the innings they played together, and explosive starts for DC.
Unfortunately, his season was cut short due to typhoid, and he could only play 10 of the 14 games making us wonder what could have been.
Nonetheless, the Capitals management must be very proud of their decision to retain the Pocket Dynamo as he showed glimpses of his unique ability this season. The think tank, and the fans will be hoping for the Shaw-stopper to steal the show in 2023.
Bapu’s Batting Comes to the Fore
Axar Patel has always been one of the IPL’s best spinners. This season, he went past the milestone of 100 IPL wickets too. Doing well with the ball is expected of him.
But, his exploits with the bat rather than the ball are what will leave Ponting and Co. satisfied, and looking forward to next season. He always had batting ability, but he improved leaps and bounds with his range hitting and it really came to the fore in IPL 2022.
Coming lower down the order, he smashed 182 runs at an impressive average of 45.50 and an astonishing SR of 151.67. His ability to win games with the bat at the death was a massive positive for DC.
What’s in store from Bapu’s bat next year?
With all of these positives, a few areas to improve on, and a family-like atmosphere as always, we all know that the DC Tigers are more than capable of turning things around in IPL 2023. We will be waiting to witness just that.
We B.E.L.I.E.V.E.
