CRICKET: Crunch time for Capitals after latest loss dampens playoffs hopes

NEW DELHI — Delhi Capitals’ playoff hopes are hanging by a thread after another setback in the Indian Premier League (IPL), with head coach Hemang Badani admitting there is now no margin for error in their remaining matches.

Delhi suffered their sixth defeat of the season on Tuesday, going down by eight wickets to Chennai Super Kings, a result that left them seventh in the 10-team standings with a negative net run rate.

With only four matches left in the regular season, Delhi face an uphill battle to finish in the top four and secure a playoff berth for the first time in five years.

“It’s crunch time for us,” Badani told reporters after his team managed just 155-7 before Chennai chased the target down with 2.3 overs remaining. “It’s more like a knockout tournament for us right now. We have to win four out of four to still have a chance to qualify.

“Everyone in the dressing room understands that. Everyone knows where we stand. It’s simple now—perform or perish.”

After electing to bat, Delhi struggled from the outset, collapsing to 69-5 inside 11 overs and failing to build any meaningful partnerships. Chennai’s Sanju Samson then anchored the chase with an unbeaten 87, guiding his side to a fifth win of the season and keeping them just above Delhi in the table.

“I thought the game was lost in the first 10 overs when we didn’t score enough runs,” said Badani, a former India international. He added that inconsistency across the squad has been a major issue.

“You can talk about permutations and combinations, but when you play good cricket, things fall into place,” he said. “When our bowling has worked, the batting hasn’t clicked. When the batting has done well, the bowling has been off.

“I won’t single out any one department, but we need at least 60 to 70 percent of the team performing on a given day. That consistency has been missing. If we can get that in the next few matches, we should be in a better position.”

— Reporting by Amlan Chakraborty in New Delhi; editing by Peter Rutherford/Reuters