The campaign of Delhi Capitals continued to spiral downward after a disappointing eight-wicket defeat against Kolkata Knight Riders on Friday in Delhi. With the latest setback, Delhi’s hopes of reaching the playoffs have become incredibly uncertain, as they now find themselves struggling near the bottom of the points table with four wins from 11 matches.

DC's defeat against KKR exposed their batting weakness as they failed to build momentum and could only manage a modest total of 142/8 in 20 overs. Following the defeat, Delhi Capitals’ Director of Cricket, Venugopal Rao, admitted the team’s batting struggles. He maintained that the batting department has been the franchise’s biggest concern this season and emphasised the importance of players stepping up in crucial moments.

"I think we failed in three departments today. After getting a good start, after seven or eight overs, we were in a good position, one wicket or something down. Then later on, next six to seven overs, we couldn't get a boundary. In this big beast of a tournament, you can't miss chances. We need to win patches. We need to win those small, small areas. Not only batting, but also in bowling or fielding," Venugopal Rao said in the post-match press conference.

“One more thing — the biggest challenge as a batting group is responsibility. When things fail, as a batting unit, you need to take responsibility. 'I'll do it, rather than somebody does it.' So, I think that is missing, I felt," he said.

Delhi’s inability to post competitive totals has repeatedly cost them matches this season. Even in games where the bowling unit performed well, the batters have failed to provide enough runs to create pressure. Meanwhile, Rao reflected on the team's perpetual failure over the years.

“Eighteen years – obviously it hurts. Seriously, when you look back, when I played during my days, I always wanted to win, from Daredevils' time to now. It’s a learning process for me. Coming into the administration part, a lot of things I’m just learning. We want to try youngsters and let’s see," Rao said