NewKerala.com

DC's No. 3 Batting Crisis Looms Ahead of Crucial SRH Clash

Delhi Capitals face a critical batting dilemma at the number three position as they prepare to face Sunrisers Hyderabad. The team has experimented with Nitish Rana, Karun Nair, and Sameer Rizvi, all of whom have failed to deliver consistent runs. Statistics reveal DC's number three spot ranks last in the league for runs, average, strike rate, and boundaries. The management must decide whether to persist with current options or recall Abishek Porel, despite his own modest record in that role.

Key Points: DC's No. 3 Problem vs SRH: Can They Fix Batting Woes?

  • DC has worst No. 3 stats in IPL
  • Tried three batters with poor returns
  • Sameer Rizvi's form has declined sharply
  • Question over Abishek Porel's recall
2 min read

Can DC solve their No. 3 problem against SRH?

Delhi Capitals struggle with the worst No. 3 stats in IPL. Analysis of Rana, Rizvi, Nair, and Porel's form ahead of SRH match.

"The number three batting position has been a nightmare for DC across all metrics - ESPNCricinfo"

Hyderabad, April 21

As Delhi Capitals take on Sunrisers Hyderabad away from home, they will have a massive problem to solve: the number three batter crisis.

Despite KL Rahul and Pathum Nissanka's good showings this season as an opening pair, DC has struggled to fix its number-three woes, which has put pressure on the middle-order batters to bail the team out.

So far, as per ESPNCricinfo, DC has tried out three names at number three in Nitish Rana (20 runs in three innings), Karun Nair (five runs in a solitary innings against RCB) and Sameer Rizvi (six runs in one inning at this spot). Rizvi's form has also seen some decline after starting off the IPL campaign with two back-to-back explosive fifties against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) and Mumbai Indians (MI), registering just eight runs in past three innings, including a duck.

The number three batting position has been a nightmare for DC across all metrics, standing last on total runs (31), batting average (6.2), strike rate (78), and boundaries (six), as per ESPNCricinfo.

The question for DC is who they will persist with at number three or if they would bring back Abishek Porel in the line-up, who has had 300-plus runs seasons with DC in 2024 and 2025, mainly as an opener. However, his number three outings are not as encouraging either, with just 194 runs in 11 innings at an average of 19.40 and a strike rate of 137.59, with the best score of 41.

Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, Ishan Kishan(c), Heinrich Klaasen, Aniket Verma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Salil Arora(w), Shivang Kumar, Praful Hinge, Sakib Hussain, Eshan Malinga, Liam Livingstone, Smaran Ravichandran, Harsh Dubey, Dilshan Madushanka, Harshal Patel, Jaydev Unadkat, Kamindu Mendis, Zeeshan Ansari, Shivam Mavi, Gerald Coetzee, Krains Fuletra, Onkar Tarmale, Amit Kumar Pathum Nissanka, KL Rahul(w), Nitish Rana, Sameer Rizvi, Tristan Stubbs, Axar Patel(c), David Miller, Auqib Nabi Dar, Kuldeep Yadav, Mukesh Kumar, T Natarajan, Lungi Ngidi, Dushmantha Chameera, Kyle Jamieson, Ajay Jadav Mandal, Karun Nair, Prithvi Shaw, Ashutosh Sharma, Tripurana Vijay, Abishek Porel, Sahil Parakh, Vipraj Nigam, Madhav Tiwari.

- ANI

Share this article:

Reader Comments

S
Sarah B
The stats are brutal. Last in every metric? That's not just a problem, it's a crisis. Maybe they should look beyond the names they've tried. What about promoting Axar Patel up the order? He's in good touch and can provide stability.
A
Ananya R
Feel bad for Sameer Rizvi. Started with such a bang! Two fifties and now this pressure at number 3 seems to have gotten to him. The team management needs to handle young talent better, not just throw them into the deep end. He has the spark.
V
Vikram M
With all due respect to the think tank, this constant chopping and changing shows a lack of planning. You don't build a player's confidence in one or two innings. They identified this as a problem before the season, so why wasn't it addressed properly at the auction? Now we are just patching up.
K
Karthik V
Honestly, the opening is settled with Rahul and Nissanka. The pressure should be off. But this number 3 hole is sucking all momentum. Against SRH's bowling, especially if they play Bhuvi and Natarajan upfront, we need a solid player there. My vote is for a calm head like David Miller at 3 tonight.
P
Priya S
It's simple maths yaar. If your top 3 doesn't score, the middle order is always under the pump. Stubbs and Miller can't do miracles every match. Hope they find a solution before it's too late for the playoff race! 💪

We welcome thoughtful discussions from our readers. Please keep comments respectful and on-topic.

Leave a Comment

Minimum 50 characters 0/50