“…they still have some issues”: Sanjay Bangar highlights Delhi Capitals Weakness despite their unbeaten run

Despite a commanding six-wicket win over Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), Delhi Capitals’ unbeaten streak in IPL 2025 has not masked the flaws in their top-order batting. The franchise’s spin arsenal continues to shine, but questions remain over their batting depth and consistency.

With Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, and emerging domestic star Vipraj Nigam, DC boast arguably the tournament’s most potent spin trio. Their versatility not only tightens the grip during middle overs but also adds depth with the bat. However, analysts believe DC are yet to become the “complete” package.

Bangar and Chawla point to top-order concerns

Speaking on ESPNcricinfo’s TimeOut show after the RCB game, Sanjay Bangar remarked, “Good bowling attack, they still have some issues at the top of the order. Top order hasn’t really fired for them as expected.” He did, however, praise KL Rahul and Tristan Stubbs for stabilising the innings with consistency.

Stubbs, who has now stitched together two strong seasons, earned special mention from Bangar, who added, “They are clearly a team to watch out for.”

Piyush Chawla echoed the sentiment, adding, “They look like a good balanced side, but there is always scope for improvement. Top of the order and I’ll say the fast-bowling department just feel… maybe a few wickets with the new ball, like you can’t always be dependent on [Mitchell] Starc and Mukesh [Kumar].” He also stressed the need for spinners to contribute in the powerplay phase.

Top-order woes persist

The statistics support the concerns. Jake Fraser-McGurk, Abishek Porel, and Faf du Plessis have only one fifty between them and average below 30. KL Rahul stepped up to open against CSK and RCB in du Plessis’ absence and played crucial knocks to rescue the innings.

While Delhi’s bowling made a statement against RCB—Starc and Kuldeep combining for 17 wickets so far—it was Vipraj Nigam who turned the game with a pivotal spell. He dismissed Virat Kohli and later contributed to RCB’s middle-order collapse alongside Kuldeep, reducing them to 125 for 7.

Varun Aaron: ‘Vipraj was brilliant tonight’

Nigam’s emergence has not gone unnoticed. Former India pacer Varun Aaron hailed the youngster on JioStar:
“Vipraj was brilliant tonight, he’s a great find for Delhi Capitals. He’s contributed with the ball and, as we’ve seen, can be destructive with the bat too. Going forward, he’s great value for the investment Delhi Capitals made in him. We need more domestic players like him to step up in the IPL and help take their teams over the line.”

Nigam’s spell—2 for 18 in four overs—complemented Kuldeep’s 2 for 17, and their 23 dot balls between them built pressure that RCB never recovered from.

Stubbs impressed by spin trio

Tristan Stubbs, who batted alongside KL Rahul in the successful chase, acknowledged the challenges posed by his own teammates during practice:
“I went in at the break thinking ‘how are we going to make a run here’. It looked like it was really hard to bat, so I was like, ‘flip, what am I going to do’. But that just shows the three of them are world-class spinners. Kuldeep’s, if not the best in the world, [among them] at the moment.”

Stubbs played the perfect supporting role with an unbeaten 38 off 23 balls, sharing a 111-run partnership with Rahul to chase down RCB’s 163 with ease.

“I think my roles recently have been so different,” Stubbs said. “Face the new ball in Test cricket and then, I feel like international cricket can still sort of be classed as old-school cricket because the scores aren’t as big as they are here [in the IPL].”

Stubbs also spoke about net sessions with DC’s spinners:

“Kuldeep I faced in one net session. He actually asked to bowl to me because the last time he bowled to me was the [T20] World Cup final. So, he wanted to do it again. But, honestly, if you can get through that net session, you feel really confident because they [DC’s spinners] are bowling really well.”

“And then if you walk out of that session feeling good, then you know you’re in good stead.”

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