Leg-spin all-rounder Vipraj Nigam acknowledged that the Delhi Capitals (DC) might have won the match on Tuesday night if their set hitters had stayed in the game to the very end of their 14-run loss to the Kolkata Knight Riders at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in the IPL 2025.

Vice-captain Faf du Plessis and skipper Axar Patel held DC steady with a 76-run partnership as they chased 205. However, when Sunil Narine removed Axar and Tristan Stubbs in the 14th over, followed by du Plessis, DC saw yet another collapse against the spinners, falling from 136/3 to 190/9. DC has lost 23 wickets against spinners before to this match.

Now, DC’s batting armor has a serious flaw as six of the nine wickets they lost against KKR were taken by spinners. The fact that returns from players like Karun Nair and KL Rahul have plummeted isn’t helping either.

“We had intended to go after their top two spinners from the start. Additionally, we had successfully targeted them in the first two overs. The theory was that we would either obtain more overs (from other bowlers) or an additional bowler would enter if we targeted two strong bowlers.

It was the same, however there are times like this when a shot is chosen incorrectly or something similar occurs. Our set players then happened to leave. It is quite tough for a novice hitter to step out and play strokes right away while facing such a bowling lineup. Therefore, we would have won the match with ease if the set players had continued to play,” Nigam said at the news conference after the game.

Despite his late appearance of 38 off 19 balls, Nigam was unable to get DC across the finish line. “There is a chance to score until the very last ball in both our practice sessions and the games we have watched and learned about. Trying to make it to the final ball was up to us. That’s what I was doing, then.

Catching the state of the ground is quite acceptable. However, the game becomes screwed up someplace due of the last-minute choices we make or something similar. Fortunately, we are still among the top four. We will attempt to rally and place in the top two in the last four games,” he said.

Nigam, who had gone wicketless in the previous four games, is back in the DC wicket-taking lists after collecting 2-41 in his last four overs. Even though pacers gave up a lot of runs, he attributed his success with the ball to the support of the DC team management.

“The path of cricket and the IPL is filled with ups and downs. However, what matters most is your strength and mental toughness, as well as the atmosphere of your squad, management, and senior players—all of whom play a crucial part in this. I consider myself fortunate to have such support at all times.

For example, they are not considering dismissing us despite a few up-and-down matches; rather, they support us and say, “If you have any doubts, you can talk to us.” However, we are supporting them.

“Axar bhai, KL (Rahul) bhai, and other veteran players have spoken with me. “Whatever you did well in the starting matches, keep doing that, and even if things aren’t great in 1-2 games, don’t think too much about it,” he said, adding that they have offered a lot of assistance.

The fact that Kuldeep Yadav, a teammate from Uttar Pradesh, is at the DC camp further benefits Nigam. The nicest thing is that we have a strong relationship and play together on the home circuit. Even before the IPL, I had several nice conversations. Therefore, having someone like him around and developing a strong relationship is fantastic.

I bowled poorly a few times, much as in the previous game, then Kuldeep and Axar bhai arrived to bowl. Don’t overthink it; everyone says that bowl the same way you do. If you bowl poorly a few times, you may be removed from the team in many teams. However, nothing like this exists in our management or team,” he said.

Anukul Roy, a left-arm spinner, played his maiden IPL 2025 match against DC. When Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) visited the town on Sunday, the ground wasn’t very captivating, but Roy ended with a clean 1-27 and dismissed left-handed wicketkeeper-batter Abishek Porel.

Since there is a lot of discussion concerning the inability to utilize a left-arm spinner when a left-handed hitter is hitting, we didn’t give that any thought. The key idea was to alter the length or line if the wicket offered any assistance, which it didn’t in this case. Mixing balls from outside and inside was the task for the right-handers, he said.

During Monday’s practice, Roy was told he was in the starting eleven and thought the pitch was comparable to the one they use at Eden Gardens. “I learned that I’m playing here yesterday during practice. It was a decent wicket to bat at. Since there is a wicket like that in Kolkata, we have been preparing to play on it.

We had a tendency to bowl and take wickets in the places we desired, such as when we wanted to use the yorker or bowl outside off-stump. We may bowl our variants to adapt to it.

Roy concluded by sharing how, with some assistance from older players and spin-bowling coach Carl Crowe, he maintained himself match-ready throughout training sessions. “I was preparing well in all areas: batting, bowling, jogging, and training. I was waiting for the opportunity, and planning is crucial.

“All of the seniors, including Varun and Narine, were really helpful to me. “What are you doing in this situation where there is a batting wicket?” is what I keep asking them. Support is also available from Moeen (Ali) bhai. With the left arm, I am also an off-spinner, just like him. We both benefit from knowing what to do, and the spin-bowling coach is doing a wonderful job of instructing us.