Delhi Capitals (DC) had a strong start in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026. Under the captaincy of Akshar Patel, the team started the new season with two big wins. They easily defeated two strong teams like Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) and Mumbai Indians (MI). It seemed that DC had left behind the disappointments of the last season and came fully prepared this time but in the next two matches, they were exposed. First they lost to Gujarat Titans (GT) in a close match and then Chennai Super Kings (CSK) defeated them by 23 runs.
They also seemed to be losing against Royal Challengers Bangalore at M Chinnaswamy Stadium but David Miller gave them victory by scoring 16 runs in 3 balls in the last over. Thanks to Miller, DC is back on the winning track but it desperately needs to solve its number 3 problem before facing Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in Uppal today (April 21). DC has tried 3 batsmen in this position and all of them have proved to be flops.
Also read: …So will the 300-run barrier be broken in Hyderabad today? This is the mood of pitch number 2
Number-3 became a big problem
Nitish Rana came first down in the first 3 matches for DC. In the first match against LSG, he scored only 15 runs in 17 balls. He could not even open his account in the next match against MI. After this, against GT he added 5 runs in 6 balls. After failing in three consecutive matches, DC dropped Rana and promoted in-form Sameer Rizvi to number 3 but he could only score 6 runs in 9 balls against CSK. DC then fielded Karun Nair in this position against RCB. But his move also did not work. Karun became the victim of Bhuvneshwar Kumar after scoring 5 runs in 5 balls.
DC’s number-3 performance in IPL 2026
Karun Nair – 5 runs, vs RCB
Sameer Rizvi – 6 runs vs CSK
Nitish Rana – 5 runs vs GT
Nitish Rana – 0 vs MI
Nitish Rana – 15 runs vs LSG
Also read: CSK was robbed of everything…the team’s biggest stalwart out of IPL 2026
DC lags behind on every parameter – number 3
This season, the statistics of DC’s number-3 batting position appear to be the worst on all parameters. Be it the matter of scoring runs (31), batting average (6.2), strike rate (78) or hitting boundaries (6), DC’s number-3 is lagging behind on every parameter.
Will a new face be seen in front of SRH?
DC has given Abhishek Porel regular chances in the top order for the last two seasons. Trust can be shown in them once again. Prithvi Shaw is also an option. However, if Prithvi plays, one of KL Rahul and Pathum Nissanka will have to come down.
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