IPL 2025: No Mitchell Starc, big problems for DC; Sai Sudharsan's 100 powers GT to a 10-wicket win

Delhi Capitals (DC) played their first match in the resumed Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 against Gujarat Titans (GT) on Sunday (May 18) at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. However, they were without the services of star pacer Mitchell Starc. In fact, Starc will not feature in any of the remaining matches due to his commitment to the upcoming World Test Championship (WTC) final.

DC felt his absence dearly, suffering a crushing 10-wicket defeat. The bowling unit failed to take even a single wicket as GT's opening pair, Sai Sudharsan and Shubman Gill, helped their side cruise to victory. In fact Sudharsan's unbeaten century overshadowed KL Rahul's brilliant ton in the first innings.

With this win, Gujarat Titans takes Punjab Kings (PBKS) and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) into the Playoffs. With 3 teams having booked their spot, only one place remains.

𝗡𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗽: 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝘆𝗼𝗳𝗳𝘀 📍

Led by Shubman Gill, the 𝙂𝙪𝙟𝙖𝙧𝙖𝙩 𝙏𝙞𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙨 have made it to their third Top 4️⃣ finish in four years 🔥#GT fans, 2️⃣nd title loading? 🤔#TATAIPL | #DCvGT | @gujarat_titans pic.twitter.com/uJSCIFt9ub

— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) May 18, 2025

DC Playoff hopes — Is there still a way in?

Delhi Capitals' (DC) crushing loss has pushed them to the brink of elimination from IPL 2025. With just two games remaining and a tricky Net Run Rate (NRR), their path to the Playoffs is anything but clear.

So, is there still a path for DC to make it to the Playoffs? Yes — but it's a tough and uncertain one.

Following the loss, DC remain on 13 points from 12 matches. Their Playoff chances have now dropped dramatically, falling from 42.3% to under 20%. Now, their qualification depends not only on winning both remaining matches but also on other results going in their favor.

Current NRR Standings

DC: +0.362

MI: +1.156

PBKS: +0.389

What does DC need to do to qualify for the IPL 2025 Playoffs

Remaining fixtures:

vs Mumbai Indians – May 21

vs Punjab Kings – May 24

The scenario

DC must win both matches to reach 17 points — the projected playoff cut-off.

If they do, they may end up tied on points with Mumbai Indians (MI) and/or Punjab Kings (PBKS), meaning NRR will decide the final standings.

Even if DC win both games, they'll need big-margin victories to improve their NRR, or hope other contenders suffer heavy defeats. It's not impossible — but Delhi’s road to the playoffs is now a narrow and uncertain one.

DC vs GT: Teams

Delhi Capitals (Playing XI): Faf du Plessis, Abishek Porel, Sameer Rizvi, KL Rahul(w), Axar Patel(c), Tristan Stubbs, Ashutosh Sharma, Vipraj Nigam, Kuldeep Yadav, T Natarajan, Mustafizur Rahman

Gujarat Titans (Playing XI): Shubman Gill(c), Jos Buttler(w), Sherfane Rutherford, Shahrukh Khan, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Kagiso Rabada, Arshad Khan, Ravisrinivasan Sai Kishore, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna