Delhi Daredevils have difficult task at hand to beat table-toppers Chennai today
Things are not looking good for Delhi Daredevils. A seven-wicket thrashing at the hands of Rajasthan Royals on Saturday night not only gave them their fourth loss in six matches but also killed the hopes of starting the Indian leg on a bright note.That loss exposed their shortcomings to a larger extent and gave a feeling that the collective failure of the team will not cease. To compound their problem further, the season’s top-ranked and IPl’s most successful team — Chennai Super Kings have landed in the Capital. On Monday, the Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led outfit will be a big threat for the hosts. CSK, unlike DD, are sitting on top of the points table with 10 points from six matches, thanks to their all-round success as a team.
While for Delhi, Jean-Paul Duminy is the only consistent performer, the southern franchise is loaded with match-winner. The Stephen Fleming-coached side is reaping the benefits of good players selection which has given them a good balance to be successful in every department — batting, bowling and fielding.At the top, Dwayne Smith and Brendon McCullum have provided sparkling starts for the middle-order hitters like Suresh Raina, Dhoni and Faf du Plesis to consolidate towards the end. Ravindra Jadeja has been as efficient as ever in his contribution as an all-rounder. Besides Jadeja, the bowling group includes the current highest wicket-taker Mohit Sharma (11), Ben Hilfenhaus and Ishwar Pandey and Ravichandran Ashwin.
“Touchwood, most departments are going well. We have bowled well, fielding has been excellent and batting has been good (too). But we know how form can be fickle in the T20 format. We have always been cautious of making statements like that, but at this stage things have been going well in all departments,” said coach Fleming.One more reason that has made Fleming, who has captained the BlackCaps for more than 10 years, happy is the rare good start by the team.
“If you ask me that five wins in six games, I would definitely take it. We are perennially slow starters but this season has been different. To get a start like this has been excellent. We have played some really good cricket. I am not going to put a dampner by saying that it’s a long way to go, but we have been in a position before when we have realised how quickly things can change. There is a nice mood in the camp and are determined to keep playing well,” he added.
For Delhi, skipper Kevin Pietersen is not in his prime form. Openers Quinton de Kock and Murali Vijay have got scores but were unable to make it big. KP’s deputy Dinesh Karthik is not middling the ball well and is yet to prove his `12 crores worth.However, one man who can be a shining force is Kedar Jadhav. Jadhav, who is coming on the back of an excellent domestic season where he scored over 1200 runs, on Saturday played a 14-ball 28-run cameo. Jadhav was picked for the last two games only and he has proved his worth.
Considering the slow nature of the Ferozeshah Kotla wicket, it seems that the visiting team will have more advantage than the hosts, who have compartively inexperienced spinners in Shahbaz Nadeem and Rahul Sharma to fall back on. Talented seamers Mohammad Shami and Jaidev Unadkat have had a reasonably fine outings but the demands are more from them.In that case, the yellow brigade will be outright favourites against the wishes of the Delhiites.
DD send THREE home
The Daredevils have decided to temporarily trim their squad of 23 players to 20 with three of the domestic uncapped players, including local boy Milind Kumar, being sent home as there is no immediate requirement of their services.Apart from Milind, the other two players who have gone back home are Haryana off-spinner Jayant Yadav and young Karnataka medium pacer HS Sharath. “Milind, Sharath and Jayant have gone home for the time being. If they are required they would be called back by the franchise,” an IPl source in know of things said. “Sending back a few players in the middle of the tournament has been a common practice among the IPl franchise for the past few years,” the source added.