Cricket
Delhi Capitals' quest for their maiden title ended on Wednesday after a loss to Kolkata Knight Riders in Qualifier 2 in IPL 2021.
Updated : Oct 14, 2021, 11:55 AM IST
The wait for a new champion in the Indian Premier League (IPL) continued for the fans as the table toppers of the 2021 edition, Delhi Capitals (DC) were knocked out of the tournament after losing to Kolkata knight Riders (KKR) in Qualifier 2 in Sharjah on Wednesday.
With the form and the solidity they had, the Capitals looked well on course to finally win their maiden title after winning 10 games out of their 14 in the league stage but their campaign came crashing down in the playoffs as they lost both the qualifiers.
The Capitals' inability to close out the games in the final overs hurt them in the first Qualifier in Dubai against Chennai Super Kings as an MS Dhoni special of 18* off just six balls meant they had to go to Sharjah to face the Knight Riders to have a second crack at qualification into the final.
However, the in-form KKR on a surface that suits their bowling attack restricted the Capitals to a low score of 135 and chased it down, even though it took a Rahul Tripathi six after they dug themselves in a hole to get them over the line.
Capitals now have a poor record in the playoffs having won just two out of 11 games they have played in the knockouts and would want to better their record in the coming years and play better in crunch moments. Capitals, along with the Royal Challengers Bangalore and Punjab Kings are still searching for their maiden title as they are the only three teams originally to not have won a title.
The fans of all three franchises rallied around after DC were knocked out of the tournament. Here are some of the reactions:
Delhi, Punjab and RCB fans pic.twitter.com/cCvI4mUYn6
— Prithvi (@Puneite_) October 13, 2021
Three hit the deck bowlers - Almost 50 runs given away by the trio so far. And no real mystery spin.
— Bharath Ramaraj (@Fancricket12) October 13, 2021
Lost a tense match to CSK and then to play KKR in Sharjah - worst nightmare for DC and its fans.
Their campaign has turned has turned upside-down.
Ricky Ponting & Rishabh Pant after seen Venkatesh Iyer batting #KKRvDC pic.twitter.com/KYPe12HVae
— Ashutosh Srivastava (@ashutosh_sri8) October 13, 2021
Delhi Capitals is South Africa of IPL.
— Preetam Rao (@Preetam_M_Rao) October 13, 2021
They'll play extremely well in League matches & choke in Play-offs.
#DCvKKR
— (@RomanaRaza) October 13, 2021
DC trying to reach IPL Finals: pic.twitter.com/RedQ8q6oRR
#DelhiCapitals #PBKS #PlayBold
— Gagan Chawla (@toecrushrzzz) October 13, 2021
Brothers in arms...together since 14 years!
Punjab kings with new chokers ( delhi capitals) pic.twitter.com/B8ovknm3hL
— naman Agarwal (@jinxernaman) October 13, 2021
This is Ultimate #DCvKKR #IPL2021 pic.twitter.com/cvJlJBmRTh
— (@ROWDY_Payyan) October 13, 2021
South Africa watching Delhi Capitals pic.twitter.com/9fLV18UpOo
— Sagar (@sagarcasm) October 13, 2021
#DCvsKKR#DelhiCapitals iccha dhari team
— Shivani (@meme_ki_diwani) October 13, 2021
NGL- they have improved a lot since they changed name pic.twitter.com/ptzu8gb0Dp