From IPL Auction to team lineup, tactical errors cost Delhi Daredevils more than under-performance

After five overs, Kolkata Knight Riders were at a modest 36 for the loss one wickets, courtesy some tight bowling the Delhi Daredevils pace trio. In the last over of the Powerplay, Robin Uthappa, then batting on nine, mistimed a pull off Kagiso Rabada’s short ball and it went straight up.

Three fielders, including wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant, converged under it. Amit Mishra and Sanju Samson got close and both looked at each other as the ball harmlessly dropped to the ground in the six feet gap between them. Neither called it, neither caught it, Mishra glared at Samson, Samson promptly turned his back, and captain Zaheer Khan applauded – probably more out of frustration than sarcasm.

Uthappa went on to blast 59 off 33 balls, to take KKR to a commanding seven-wicket win with almost four overs to spare on Friday evening at the Eden Gardens.

That brain fade of a dropped catch was the perfect allegory of the season Delhi Daredevils are having in IPL 2017. Potential, plenty of it, but the on field performance keeps falling short. And the Daredevils are left staring and glaring at each other as the other team runs away with the match.

At exactly the halfway mark in the tenth edition of the league, Delhi Daredevils are languishing at the bottom of the points table with only two wins from seven matches. The two wins came against Rising Pune Supergiant and Kings XI Punjab, more than two weeks ago.

At a time when teams have as many as 14 points, Delhi’s paltry four are nowhere near enough to harbour hopes of a playoff spot. And given their latest on and off field performance, it seems unlikely to get any better.

DD’s disastrous decisions

There are several reasons for this abysmal record, some from even before the tenth season of the Indian Premier League began, have been discussed at length in the commentary box, studios and social media.

The team combination experiments, the horses for courses policy, the batting order confusion, the lack of power hitters, the very few big international names, the core of domestic players – it has all been dissected and disseminated in DD’s post-games analysis.

But some of the very reasons that are now being cited for the losses, were reasons why Delhi could finally taste success this year, if not for some disastrous decisions from the Delhi Daredevils camp. Yes, the numerous on-field errors by the talented bunch of domestic players have cost Delhi dear. But it is the tactical errors, right from the auction, from a think-tank consisting of two of India’s cleverest cricketers, that are now snowballing into blunders.

Right from the auctions, DD built a lopsided unit – more bowlers than batsmen and more pacers than spinners. In a team bereft of big-hitters, Corey Anderson was the only out and out hard-hitting batsmen bought during the February auctions for 2 crore. Delhi’s other major picks were pace bowler Kagiso Rabada for 5 crore, another pace bowler Pat Cummins for 4.5 crore, bowling all-rounder Angelo Mathews for 2 crore, spinner Murugan Ashwin for 1 crore. The only known batsman were Aditya Tare (25 lakh) and Ankit Bawne (10 lakh).

While the absence of Quentin de Kock and JP Duminy were not anticipated then, it is still flawed auction strategy to buy a bulk of overseas bowlers, when you have the likes of Chris Morris, Mohammed Shami, Amit Mishra, Jayant Yadav, Shahbaz Nadeem already on the roster and a quota of only four foreign players.

Today, while Shami and Jayant and Nadeem warm the bench for Delhi, teams like Gujarat Lions and Royal Challengers are desperately looking for solid local bowlers, and the likes of Martin Guptill and Jason Roy are waiting for full-time opportunities, while Delhi is suffering for the want of batting firepower.

Puzzling persistence with under performers

The need to reinvent the batting order has already been discussed and even implemented to a fair degree, but the obstinate persistence with under-performing players in a team fare too frequently chopped and changed is puzzling.

Karun Nair has already got a very long rope. He has scored 78 runs in seven outings so far, of which 63 have come batting at No 3 and his strike-rate at that crucial position in 88, the only No 3 under 100 in this IPL. Against Kolkata, he was sent to open with Sanju Samson – Delhi’s fourth opening combination this season – and while the duo looked threatening in the first few overs, Nair was caught LBW by Sunil Narine on 15 off 17 and Delhi were down to 48/1 in less than five overs, while Samson piled on the runs (60 off 38) without much support.

The Test triple centurion has endured a miserable lean patch, and still having him at the top of the order in the hope of that one spark igniting is a fool’s errand. And while Rishabh Pant has also had a bad couple of games, sending him up the order would be a positive step, one that should be taken at the earliest to ensure some silver linings for the team and their followers.

Curious case of Zaheer Khan

That Zaheer is an invaluable asset to any team’s think-tank is not under question. But there are other, pressing questions: Is the 38-year-old pacer an asset to the team? And if he isn’t around, is there a replacement for Zaheer the captain? In his brief absence, Karun Nair directed the field. But with his own place under scrutiny, who will Delhi turn to?

The fast bowler opened the bowling like always, but sent down only seven balls against Kolkata, before going off the field with a potential hamstring problem. To Indian cricket fans, this is a depressingly familiar sight – Zaheer limping off with another injury. While the extent of the injury is not knows as yet, he said he decided not to risk bowling. To be perfectly honest, it wasn’t much of a miss. Zaheer has got seven wickets in the season so far with some sharp bowling in the Powerplay, but his death over bowling has pushed his economy to almost nine at an average of 28. Not satisfactory figures for a team with Cummins and Morris.

But while the pace-heavy team will not miss Zaheer the bowler, they face a big decision on who to give the mantle of captaincy, if he has to sit out. The team management did not seem to have planned for this contingency. Other than Angelo Mathews, an unconfirmed starter himself, no other player seems to equal to the task of leading in the IPL currently.

The other crucial decision to be taken is whether to bring back Sam Billings, even if it means choosing between Rabada and Cummins, because even an illustrious bowling lineup needs something to defend in face of explosive batsman. While Chris Morris is indispensable and Anderson a vital batsman, it is the pace department that will have to sacrifice.

Questions aplenty

The introduction of Marlon Samuels (in place of de Kock), who carries the typical Caribbean game changing flair, is a optimistic prospect, even though it throws up more questions. While the West Indian will reinforce the batting and bowling department, who will he replace? Will the 5 crore-pick Rabada sit out, or will Cummins with his wily variations carry drinks? Paddy Upton, Dravid and Zaheer face plenty of tough questions before their next match, a day later on Sunday.

Delhi played after a six-day break on Friday and had enough time to address the questions that had plagued them. But with another loss, it has become now become a matter of survival. Before the match, Zaheer had spoken about how the next nine days with as many as five games will define Delhi’s season. But one game later, time is already running out. Any effort with only four points on board at the halfway mark will eventually end up more of an attempt to avoid the wooden spoon, than to reach the top.

As for the fans, the cricket watcher who was looking forward to see the upcoming Indians play in a team led by Dravid and Zaheer, DD have been a disappointment yet again. But even if the team cannot pull off a miraculous run to the playoffs, one will hope that the individual players start putting in performances that justify their talent and negate the tactical errors.