IPL 2021: Delhi Capitals Factbox, drowsy devils finally on an upward curve

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Delhi Daredevils as they were called earlier endured a tough time season after season failing to qualify for the Playoffs for six straight seasons starting 2013 season. It was only in the 2019 season that they broke the duck making it to Qualifier 2 where they lost to Chennai Super Kings. Delhi Capitals, as they were rebranded in the 2019 season, have been on an upward curve though and improving. In the 2020 season they made it to the final but lost to reigning champions Mumbai Indians. Prior to this they were the only team not to have made a final appearance in the League. They have made it to the semis/playoffs only five times in 13 seasons and have finished last in the group four times. Still, if you go by numbers they have been the worst team overall in the league with a win percentage of 44.53 - the lowest in the league among the current teams. But with the way this young, vibrant team is performing, we can soon see the tables turned.
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Here's how they have fared year on year:

How did they fare the previous season: DC had their best season in 2020 as they made it to their first final in the history of the IPL. They were however outclassed by a rampant Mumbai side as they chased down 157 with five wickets and eight balls to spare. 2019 was sort of a revival for DC. After going six consecutive years without making it to the Playoffs, a young and vibrant Delhi side finally broke that door open by ending 3rd in the group stage. They beat Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Eliminator but ended up losing to CSK in the Qualifier-2.

Win Percentage: Delhi Capitals have had the worst win percentage for teams to have played more than 100 matches in the league. They stand at 44.53 percent with 84 wins and 105 losses (the most by any team) from 194 games with two ending in No Result. They have won two Super Overs and lost one.

Highest Run-getter: Shreyas Iyer

Shreyas Iyer leads Delhi's run-scoring chart with 2200 runs from 79 innings at 31.42. He's scored 16 fifties and possessed a strike rate of 126.07.

Highest wicket taker: Amit Mishra

The veteran has been a consistent performer for DC over the years. He's scalped 100 wickets from 95 innings at 23.98. He has one five-for and one four-fer to his name and an impressive economy rate of 7.33 and strike rate of 19.6.

Highest individual score: Rishabh Pant 128 not out from 63 balls vs Sunrisers Hyderabad in Delhi in 2018

Walking in at 21/2 in the 4th over, Pant hit a whirlwind 128 not out off 63 balls to catapult Delhi to 187/5 at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi. However, his efforts went in vain as Shikhar Dhawan (92) and Kane Williamson chased the target down with seven balls and nine wickets to spare.

Highest team score: 231/4 vs KXIP in Delhi in 2011

Powered by David Warner (48 ball 77) and Virender Sehwag's (35-ball 77) half-centuries, DD posted 231/4 against KXIP at the then called Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium. Shaun Marsh led KXIP's fight with a 46-ball 95 but Punjab fell well short, by 29 runs. Warner was named the Man of the Match.

Favourite opponent: Deccan Chargers

Delhi have had the best win percentage against Deccan Chargers (For teams against whom DC have played 10 or more matches). They have won 7 out of the 11 matches and lost 4 with a win percentage of 63.63. Among the current teams (against whom they have played 10 or more matches), they have the best record against rajasthan Royals - 50 percent having won 11 and lost 11 of the 22 matches played.

Bogey team: Chennai Super Kings

Delhi have struggled against CSK with 15 losses from 23 matches and just 8 wins, making their win percentage just 34.78 percent.

When they played in the UAE: The Daredevils as they were known back then had a mixed outing in the UAE with two wins and three losses from five matches. When they came back after six years, they had their best time, finishing as runners-up.

Lesser known facts:

- Delhi have suffered joint-most number of consecutive defeats in a season - 9 in 2014. Pune suffered the same fate in the 2012 season.

- They also hold the record jointly with Pune for most consecutive defeats overall - 11. (Delhi's extending from 2014 to 2015 and Pune's extending from 2012 t0 2013).

- There has been 129 ducks recorded in the DC jersey so far - the most among all the teams in the tournament so far.
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Purchases, releases and squad

IPL 2020 auctions players bought: Steve Smith, Umesh Yadav, Ripal Patel, Vishnu Vinod, Lukman Meriwala, M Siddharth, Tom Curran, Sam Billings

IPL 2020 players traded in: None

IPL 2020 Retained players: Shreyas Iyer, Ajinkya Rahane, Amit Mishra, Avesh Khan, Axar Patel, Harshal Patel, Ishant Sharma, Kagiso Rabada, Prithvi Shaw, R Ashwin, Rishabh Pant, Shikhar Dhawan, Shimron Hetmyer, Marcus Stoinis, Lalit Yadav, Anrich Nortje, Daniel Sams, Pravin Dubey, Chris Woakes.

Released players: Alex Carey, Keemo Paul, Tushar Deshpande, Sandeep Lamichhane, Mohit Sharma, Jason Roy.

Full squad:

Shikhar Dhawan, Prithvi Shaw, Ajinkya Rahane, Rishabh Pant, Shreyas Iyer, Axar Patel, Amit Mishra, Ishant Sharma, R Ashwin, Lalit Yadav, Harshal Patel, Avesh Khan, Pravin Dubey, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Marcus Stoinis, Shimron Hetmyer, Chris Woakes, Daniel Sams, Steve Smith, Umesh Yadav, Ripal Patel, Vishnu Vinod, Lukman Meriwala, M Siddharth, Tom Curran, Sam Billings

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Check out full schedule of DC here 

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