Absence of genuine pace hurts Daredevils

Delhi Daredevils

What went wrong: The Daredevils have become serial losers in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Not that they batted badly in their previous match against the Rajasthan Royals at the Ferozeshah Kotla stadium. 184 for three in 20 overs was an imposing total. Then they had pegged the Royals back, taking four wickets inside 11 overs. But lack of bowling depth hurt them badly and the Daredevils slumped to yet another defeat — 11th on the bounce over two seasons. South African leg-spinner Imran Tahir was the only shinning light, keeping his team in the game till the end. Unfortunately, there was no support at the other end. Mohammed Shami is yet recover fully from a niggle and will sit out once again. Without a genuine paceman, The Daredevils attack looks pedestrian. Fielding, too, is an area of concern. They gave Deepak Hooda two chances — a run-out and a catch — in two overs and lost the match.

What went right: It’s good to see that the Daredevils are throwing in some exciting young talents like Mayank Agarwal and Shreyas Iyer at the deep end. Both stood up to be counted against the Royals. At 45 for no loss after 4.3 overs, the team had an electric start. Iyer was very impressive. The young batsman was called the ‘superman’ in the India Under-19 team. Against the Royals, he displayed maturity beyond his age.

Kings Xi Punjab

What went right: Collectively, Kings XI Punjab had a good game against the Mumbai Indians. Virender Sehwag rolled back the years, Murali Vijay perfectly played second fiddle during a 60-run (6.4 overs) opening partnership and captain George Bailey upped the ante at the death. And they had Mitchell Johnson to tear apart the Mumbai batting. The Australian quick bagged two wickets and had an economy rate of 5.75. Sandeep Sharma was even more miserly, conceding only 12 runs in his four overs and dismissing Rohit Sharma. Punjab arguably have the most potent seam attack in the tournament and if you have a spinner of Axar Patel’s accuracy to complement the quicks, you’re ticking most of the boxes.

What went wrong: Early days, but Glenn Maxwell is yet to hit the groove. He’s the biggest match-winner in a star-studded batting line-up but he is yet to fire on all cylinders. Also, against the Mumbai Indians, they lowered their guard after reducing their opponents to 69 for six.

Conclusion

Punjab will start as overwhelming favourites and Delhi have to come up with something special to end their losing streak. Once again, a good start would be crucial for both the teams and also death bowling.

Source:: Indian Express