NEW DELHI: “Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. Three times is…?” Not just a fortuitous combination of circumstances, that is certain. SportzPower has taken some liberties with the celebrated line from the James Bond film Goldfinger, but Parth Jindal, scion of the JSW Group, can certainly take a bow on this one.
The entry of Delhi Capitals into the Indian Premier League playoffs after a gap of seven long years, is more than just a change of ownership and change of name. It is no coincidence that when the JSW Group bought the rights for the Bangalore I-League franchise in 2013, Jindal was handed responsibility of the football club on his return from the USA and became CEO of Bengaluru FC and success has followed as a constant.
Last month, Bengaluru FC were crowned champions of the Hero Indian Super League, the title coming in just the second season of BFC’s entry into the top tier of Indian club football, making the JSW Sports-owned franchise the first team to win both the ISL and I-League.
For the record, this is the sixth major title Bengaluru FC have won in the last six years – I-League (2013-14, 2015-16), Federation Cup (2014-15, 2016-17), Super Cup (2017-18) and ISL (2018-19).
While those results achieved were a seriously BIG deal, JSW Sports entry into the IPL, via its acquisition of a 50% stake in (what was then) Delhi Daredevils from GMR Group, meant a whole different ball game.
The ball game may be different, not the results. In the first year of JSW Sports entry into the IPL, Delhi Capitals has sealed a spot in the playoffs of the 12th edition of the IPL.
With its 16-run win over star studded Royal Challengers Bangalore at their home ground of Feroz Shah Kotla on Sunday, 28 April, Delhi entered the knockout round of the league for the first time since 2012.
It was Delhi’s eighth win in 12 games, giving them the 16 points needed to seal a top-four berth. Chennai Super Kings were the first team to quality for the playoffs.
A hat tip also to former ICC events manager Dhiraj Malhotra, who was named the Delhi Capitals CEO only in March. Having been IPL tournament director in 2008 and 2009, he had all the right credentials. But as anyone can vouch, in the big leagues, pretty much everyone has the credentials, but not everyone can deliver the results.
To quote MS Dhoni, arguably the best captain the IPL has had in the 12 editions of the tournament: “Your franchise pays so much money for you, you should at least make the last four. After that you can say it is a lottery.”
Delhi Capitals has made the last four. It has as good a chance as any of “winning the lottery”.
