Delhi Daredevils’ usually reliable bowling unit is faltering at a very crucial time in IPL 10

In the last one week, Delhi Daredevils have:

• Lost to Kings XI Punjab by 10 wickets after being dismissed for 67
• Beaten Sunrisers Hyderabad by 6 wickets after chasing 186
• Beaten Gujarat Lions by 7 wickets after chasing 209
• Lost to Mumbai Indians by 146 runs after being dismissed for 66      

To a casual observer, this might look like stark inconsistency. But to the people who have followed Delhi Daredevils from the start of this edition of the Indian Premier League, or indeed any of the past few, know that this is business as usual.

The team, a young, energetic and definitely talented. But terribly erratic. After almost every loss, there is a sense of déjà vu – it’s the same few factors that lead to defeat. The inexperience is showing. The top order did not click together. Too many misfields. There is always a ready and usually reliable reason for the loss.

After Saturday’s record 146-run loss to Mumbai Indians, the reason looked simple. The batting failed. Delhi did slump to 66 all out, even lower than last Saturday’s 67 all out.

However, it is not the batting order alone that should shoulder the blame of the ignominious defeat. A large part of the loss is due to the bowling attack. The pace-heavy attack that was Delhi Daredevils’ strength this season. The one that their captain believed could bowl first even when he won the toss. The one the think-tank splurged almost 10 crore on at the 2017 Auctions.

Yes, the batsmen failed to cross even 70. But that was after the bowlers had conceded 212 runs. Unlike the 10-wicket loss to Punjab, where the batsmen gave the bowlers nothing to play at.

The usually reliable bowling unit is faltering

While Delhi’s inexperienced batting attack has come under fire for many of their losses this season, the bowling has generally been up to standard. After all, the team does boast of the likes of Zaheer Khan and Mohammed Shami, two of India’s finest pacers, Kagiso Rabada and Pat Cummins, two of international cricket’s most exciting young seamers, Amit Mishra, IPL’s most successful spinner, and backup local spinners in Jayant Yadav, Shahbaz Nadeem, Murugan Ashwin, and not to mention all rounders Chris Morris, Corey Anderson and Angelo Mathews, all who can bowl a fair bit. Of course this heavy-duty bowling unit has usually been reliable this season.

However, in the last three games, all at home ground Kotla, the Delhi bowling unit has been dearly expensive. Before these three matches, Delhi had conceded above 170 only once before, in the away leg to the Sunrisers Hyderabad where Kane Williamson and Shikhar Dhawan had taken them for 191. Now, they have given away 185, 208, 212 in consecutive games.

A good indication of how the bowling attack deteriorated is the difference between the two matches against Mumbai Indians. In the earlier at the Wankhede Stadium, the Delhi attack consisting of Rabada, Morris, Zaheer, Mishra, and Cummins restricted the high-flying Mumbai batsmen to 142/8 in 20 overs. In this match at Kotla, Delhi went with a full pace attack as well, with Mohammed Shami replacing Morris and part-timer Corey Anderson and rolling his arm as well. The result was 212.

Conceding a score in excess of 200 in back-to-back matches when in desperate need of a win to stay alive in the tournament is inexcusable. But more so with such a potent bowling attack. In the last match, Rabada was taken for 59 runs in his four overs. In this match, Cummins gave away 59 runs, with 23 in the crucial last over that helped Mumbai cross 200 despite the otherwise strong death bowling. Not a single bowler was spared, not a single bowler could hold up an end. In fact, Zaheer Khan was the most economical of the lot at 7.25 and he didn’t take a single wicket, despite coming close.

To be very straight, something is amiss when in a team with bowlers of the caliber mentioned above, the thriftiest in a high-scoring match is the 38-year-old Zaheer Khan. He opened with the new ball, bowling three overs back-to-back and conceding three, eight and 10. In a Powerplay that went for 60, those are good figures. However, he went wicketless again and hasn’t exactly been a strike bowler for his team, even if relatively frugal.

As one of India’s most accomplished pacers, Zaheer makes an excellent mentor for young bowlers. He is often stationed at mid-on and seen running up to the bowler between delivers to offer advice with a encouraging hand over their shoulder. And it was working, as the table above shows. Delhi haven’t been smacked for big runs as often.

Time to come together as a team

Despite conceding big in the last three games, the Delhi batting bailed them out in two of those to win. Against Sunrisers, all the batsman chipped in together, even as the defending champions missed the services of the veteran Ashish Nehra, who was injured, and a dependable sixth bowler. (Yuvraj Singh and Moises Henrqiues gave away most of the runs.) Against the struggling Gujarat Lions bowling attack, it was the sheer brilliance of Rishabh Pant and Sanju Samon that took them home, despite the steep target.

However, Mumbai Indians are no pushovers with the ball. In the last match between the two, despite having to defend a modest total of 143, Delhi fell short by 14 runs, courtesy a gritty bowling performance by Mumbai. Even without scoreboard pressure, the top order crumbled for only 20, and in a story of soft dismissals and suicidal run outs, Mumbai managed to stay in top. Lasith Malinga, Jasprit Bumrah and Co look and believed that they could defend that small total and went ahead and did it. That is the kind of bowling that tops tables and reaches playoffs.

For Delhi to have any hope of finishing in the Top four (it is still mathematically possible), they will have to find that spark in their bowling attack again. The spark that made Zaheer believe that his team can bowl first even with the dew factor. Because as this season has shown, the young, domestic batting unit can only do so much, the real strength of the Daredevils lies in their bowling attack.