Team effort: How Delhi Daredevils broke the cycle of collapses and bad choices to beat Sunrisers

“They are young but they have been playing IPL for a while. Most of them have shown glimpses of some good performances in this tournament and in the past as well. So really it’s going to be up to them to lift themselves up and go and play good cricket. The key will be not to think too far ahead and focus on the next game. We owe it to our fans and franchisee, they deserve much better than what we did today.”

This is what Delhi Daredevils coach Rahul Dravid said after the team’s 10-wicket loss to Kings XI Punjab.

And from the way the Delhi unit bounced back from that defeat to beat defending champs Sunrisers Hyderabad by six wickets, it looks like the coach has driven his point home. The young team lifted their game and played good cricket. Not spectacular cricket, but just solid, old-fashioned cricket that got them home with five balls to spare in a chase of 186.

The batting order was shaken up. The top five batsmen – including the four who are often hailed as India’s future – contributed with the bat. The pinch-hitters finished the chase with big-hitting shots. The strike bowler got crucial wickets. The spinners stalled the momentum. Everyone (okay, almost everyone) played their role in the win.

That’s what set Tuesday’s win apart – it wasn’t due to one or two people, it was a combined team effort. Complete with the management team in the dugout who finally shook off the strategy lethargy and took decisive calls that ended Delhi’s abysmal five match losing streak.

Talented Top 4 deliver 

In the context of this season, Delhi’s win might be considered an upset. Before the match, the reigning champs were in the top half of the table with 13 points while Delhi were at the rock bottom with only four. Sunrisers were coming off a 48-run win over the formidable Kolkata Knight Riders where captain David Warner had smashed a century. Daredevils had been dismissed for 67 in their last game. When Yuvraj Singh and Delhi’s misfiring fielding combined to set an imposing target of 185, the game was very much in favour of Hyderabad.

But the Rahul Dravid-helmed team finally showed up with a performance befitting their potential, especially in the batting department. That the team had the talent was rarely under question, but the temperament of the youngsters and tactics of the think-tank was. Once these kinks were ironed over, the win was only a matter of time.

A top-order consisting of the likes of Sanju Samson, Rishabh Pant, Shreyas Iyer, Karun Nair, in Indian conditions could not keep capitulating. What these men lack in international experience, they make up for with their domestic exploits. On their day, each of these players can be single-handed match-winners. As Dravid mentioned, they have shown glimpses before. In fact, in the last few months, each of the four has risen to newer heights. Nair made his Test debut and scored a triple century in December. Pant had a phenomenal season for Delhi and was named as the backup India T20I wicketkeeper in January. Iyer was called into the Test squad after scoring a double against Australia in February. Samson scored a stunning century against Rising Pune Supergiant in April.

But the four had just not been coming together to click for Delhi consistently. Against Sunrisers, though, each of the clicked with the bat and with each other. Nair (39), Iyer (33), Pant (34) and Samson (24) built partnerships that not only set the foundations for the big chase, but also ensured that the required rate never got out of hand.

Their efforts is what enabled Corey Anderson, the top scorer with a 24-ball 41, and Chris Morris (15 off 7) to go for the kill towards the end. Both the overseas players are bona fide big hitters who can change the match with their batting, but without ample support from the rest, they haven’t been able to do much either.

Delhi camp get their team right

The other crucial aspect of the win was Delhi finally getting their team right. After the losing streak, it was evident that Delhi’s tactical errors were bogging the team down as much as their under-performance. But that changed at Kotla, and the result showed.

Sam Billings and Shahbaz Nadeem were replaced by Angelo Mathews and Jayant Yadav. While the Sri Lankan captain neither got a chance to bat or bowl in this match, Jayant was instrumental is tying Sunrisers down in the middle overs and gave away only 26 runs in his four overs. Mathews’ inclusion also serves as having an experienced captain in the mix, and he can help out with field placements and such.

But the big difference in approach was what made the difference to match as well – promoting Rishabh Pant. This writer and everyone who has seen the youngster in action had questioned the call to keep him at No 5, especially after a misfiring top order.

On Tuesday, the young wicketkeeper-batsman came at No 3, and played the perfect foil to a rampaging Karun Nair initially. When Pant faced Rashid Khan’s first ball, he dispatched it for a boundary and once his senior partner was dismissed, took over the mantle of attack with ease. While he couldn’t convert his start, getting out to Mohammed Siraj right after a booming Six, his 20-ball 34 gave Delhi’s chase the momentum in the middle overs.

Delhi’s obstinate persistence with Nair – who was promoted from No 3 to opener along with being captain – also finally paid off. He looked to be in good touch in his stay on crease and played a solid T20 innings of 39 off 20 balls at a strike rate of 195. This was also his highest score across formats since his triple century against England. As the opener, he provided the perfect platform for his team in a formidable chase, getting 36 off only 15 deliveries in the Powerplay. But Delhi will need more of this from their captain if they harbour hopes of a playoff.

And now for the elephant in the team – in the absence of Zaheer Khan, Mohammed Shami was the experienced seamer in the team. And he responded with a man of the match winning performance that included the big wickets of David Warner and Kane Williamson. It makes one wonder, did the decision to keep a bowler like Shami on the bench to accommodate the 38-year-old captain make sense? Well, it wouldn’t be the only contentious call from the Delhi camp ahead of this season.

Playoff chances

However, this was by no means a perfect performance from Delhi. First of all, Sunrisers would not have reached 185 if not for the sloppy fielding from Delhi. Yuvraj Singh was dropped on 29, and he went on to make 71. Add to that, the misfields and drops, and a good 20-25 runs were gifted by Delhi. Then there was the bowling, especially at death. Kagiso Rabada gave away 59 runs in his four overs, two of which came towards the end. The batting may have covered for these blunders this time, but Delhi will need a more complete performance from all three departments in the future.

But as Dravid said after the farce against Punjab, “We can only go up from here.”

The first step has been taken with this win. And Daredevils are by no mathematical means out of playoff contention, with six points on the board and with five matches still to play. They play Gujarat next, and face the Lions again, Mumbai Indians, Rising Pune Supergiant and Royal Challengers Bangalore in the upcoming week. If they mend their chinks in the armour and build on this performance, there is an optimistic possibility that Delhi can make it to the playoffs. If not, the next five matches are still an important opportunity for the youngsters in the side to show that they can transform their potential into performance consistently.