Delhi Capitals’ (DC) wait of winning their maiden Indian Premier League (IPL) title was extended by another season as they lost to Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the 2nd Qualifier on Wednesday (October 13). DC emerged as the top-placed side during the league stage and were in great form before the playoffs.

However, they lost both the Qualifiers and crashed out of IPL 2021. A day after the defeat, DC head coach Ricky Ponting took to Twitter to share a heartfelt message. Hoping for a bigger and better comeback next year, the former Australia skipper wrote: “Thanks all @DelhiCapitals fans for your amazing support. Disappointing way for us to finish the season but it was such a thrill to be a part of as always. Bigger and better next year.”

With 10 wins from 14 matches, DC finished ahead of Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the points table. They lost their last league stage fixture against Royal Challengers Bangalore on the final delivery and then went down against CSK in a thriller in the first Qualifier. Against KKR as well, DC’s bowlers brought them back into the game but the team failed to defend the total of 135.

Despite the result, it was a good season for DC as they dominated the league stage phase. DC’s performance graph has gone up under Ponting, who joined them in 2018.

In 2019, DC ended their 7-year drought and made it to the playoffs of an IPL season first time in 7 years. In 2020, DC finished in the top 2 and won the 2nd Qualifier to make it their maiden IPL final. DC had a dream run in 2021 and finished as the top-placed side.

Given Ponting’s success with DC, he looks set to be retained. As far as players go, skipper Rishabh Pant looks an automatic retention. It remains to be seen if DC retain Shreyas Iyer or not.