Delhi Capitals can afford no more slip-ups if they are to have any chance of making the Indian Premier League (IPL) playoffs for the first time in five years, coach Hemang Badani said after his side suffered a sixth defeat of the season on Tuesday.
Delhi's eight-wicket loss to Chennai Super Kings left them stuck in seventh spot in the 10-team league, with a negative net run rate to boot. With only four games left in the regular season, Delhi have little time to claim a top-four spot and a place in the playoffs.
"It's crunch time for us," Badani told reporters after his side posted a meagre 155-7 and were overhauled with 2.3 overs to spare. "It's more like a knockout tournament for us right now. We have to win four in four to still have a chance to qualify.
"Everyone understands that in the dressing room and the dugout. Everyone knows that this is where we are now. It's as simple as perform or perish."
Electing to bat, Delhi slumped to 69-5 in 11 overs and never looked capable of putting up a substantial total. Chennai's Sanju Samson notched an unbeaten 87 to guide his side to a fifth win of the season that kept them one spot above Delhi.
"I thought the game was lost in the first 10 overs when we did not get enough," said former India player Badani, who felt not enough of his players were performing at their best.
"You can have multiple conversations about permutations and combinations but when you play good cricket, these things fall in place," he added.
"When we were bowling well, the batting didn't click. If we're batting well, the bowling has been a bit poor.
"I won't single out a specific department that has done badly or poorly, but it's more the case that you want at least 60-70 per cent of your men turning up on a given day. That has been missing. If we can try and get that in the next few games, we should be okay."