Delhi Daredevils might not be the whipping boys of this year’s IPL. They are most definitely not going to be propping up the points table on their shoulders for the third year running. But all this will come as only a minor consolation to JP Duminy’s men as they lost their third consecutive match, this time to the defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders at Eden Gardens. The margin of victory – 12 runs – gives the impression that this was a close contest. But on the evidence of last night, Delhi Daredevils were outplayed in all departments by the Knight Riders.
Except, maybe, catching. Both teams were woeful on that front.
Strangly, fast bowlers make the difference
In a ground that has assisted spinners throughout the season, it was natural to expect that the winner of the Imran Tahir-Amit Mishra-JP Duminy-Yuvraj Singh versus Sunil Narine-Brad Hogg-Piyush Chawla-Johan Botha-Yousuf Pathan battle would determine who came out on top. Sure, Chawla’s four-over burst for figures of 4 for 30 won him the man of the match award, but the ones who made a dfference on the night for the two sides were the fast bowlers.
Consider this. Zaheer Khan, who bowled a probing first spell of three overs conceding 17 runs and accounting for Gautam Gambhir, came back to bowl the 20th over and conceded 18 runs. That it came as a result of Johan Botha’s hitting him for four successive boundaries will give Zaheer nightmares. Now contrast this with KKR’s death bowling.
With every possible variety of spin available to choose from, Gambhir turned to Umesh Yadav and Andre Russell to bowl the last three. With Delhi needing 42 from 18 balls, the pacers conceded just 28 in the three overs, including a pretty pointless last over that went for 15 runs.
Even up front, Yadav and Russell bowled with good pace and great heart at the Delhi openers. Manoj Tiwary, picked in place of Mayank Agarwal and thrown into the deep end on his home ground, found the going especially tough. When the first strategic timeout was taken in Delhi’s innings, the scoreboard read 54-0 in 9 overs. But wickets in hand, in this case, meant no points on the table for Delhi.
Gambhir changes tactic with Narine back
Earlier in the evening, Gambhir had won the toss and for the first time this year put the opposition into bat. It was a decision that seemingly hinged on having “the leader of the attack” Narine back in the ranks. While Narine is undoubtedly a great asset for KKR, his form this year hasn’t been great.
In contrast to his impressive IPL career economy rate of 5.95, he has conceded at over 7 this year in the six matches he has played, picking up a mere two wickets. Admittedly this has been a season of turmoil for the West Indies star. But the fact that Gambhir mentioned, not once but twice, how important it is to have him back, showed the leadership skills of the Delhi man and his ability to rally the troops around him.
Duminy, who said he would have bowled first, did not get too many things right on the field. First, he missed a direct hit to run out Gambhir when he was closer to the stumps than the Kolkata skipper was. And then he saw his team drop catch after catch, including an old-fashioned right-through-the-fingers drop by Yuvraj at midwicket.
But it did not look like KKR were getting to a big total in a hurry, as Amit Mishra turned on the screws in his first two overs conceding just two runs and dismissing Robin Uthappa. Emphasising the importance of getting Gambhir’s wicket early against a spin-heavy attack, KKR sent in the only other recognised left hander in their side, Piyush Chawla, at No. 4. Promoted as a pinch-hitter to take on Mishra and Tahir, all that Chawla pinched was the Knight Riders’ momentum, as they scored at just over run a ball in the middle overs.
Yusuf Pathan had other ideas, however. He bid his time at the crease – something he has repeatedly done in this year’s IPL – and waited for the balls in his zone to be hit. And when the Delhi bowlers obliged with length balls outside his off stump, he launched them into the stands. Thirty of his 42 runs came off six boundary balls, while he patiently accumulated the remaining 12 runs off 18 balls. A mature Yusuf will be an ace up Gambhir’s sleeve towards the business end of the tournament.
Even so, Delhi could have restricted KKR to a par score of 160. But Imran Tahir proved expensive yet again towards the death. And in what was perhaps the clincher of the match, Zaheer was taken to the cleaners by Botha in the last over. The veteran fast bowler let his team down with some unimaginative bowling, repeatedly over-pitching outside the off stump.
Chawla makes amends with the ball
With the required run rate creeping beyond 10 as early as the seventh over of Delhi’s chase, Piyush Chawla had the freedom to express himself with the ball in his hands. This was not him batting at No. 4 against a good bowling attack. This was him in his zone.
He tossed the ball up for his leg spinners, didn’t overuse the wrong ‘un and even bowled a 113 kph straighter one. Chawla reaped the rewards of the tight opening burst from the fast bowlers and Narine, as Delhi chose him as the target to go after. All of his four wickets were catches taken on the boundary line, as he teased the Delhi batsmen with his variety.
In the end, Delhi never brought any momentum to the chase and, despite Shreyas Iyer’s cameo at the top and Angelo Mathews’s late burst, looked out of the game from the outset. JP Duminy said after the game that they leaked about 20 runs on the field, didn’t get a good start, and kept letting go of opportunities on the field.
It seems, sadly, that the only thing Delhi has got consistently right is their analysis of the defeats. In all honesty, if the Daredevils manage to pick up a couple of more wins, this would go down as a season in the right direction. They are now pretty much out of it, but there is the proverbial pride left to play for.
Except, maybe, catching. Both teams were woeful on that front.
Strangly, fast bowlers make the difference
In a ground that has assisted spinners throughout the season, it was natural to expect that the winner of the Imran Tahir-Amit Mishra-JP Duminy-Yuvraj Singh versus Sunil Narine-Brad Hogg-Piyush Chawla-Johan Botha-Yousuf Pathan battle would determine who came out on top. Sure, Chawla’s four-over burst for figures of 4 for 30 won him the man of the match award, but the ones who made a dfference on the night for the two sides were the fast bowlers.
Consider this. Zaheer Khan, who bowled a probing first spell of three overs conceding 17 runs and accounting for Gautam Gambhir, came back to bowl the 20th over and conceded 18 runs. That it came as a result of Johan Botha’s hitting him for four successive boundaries will give Zaheer nightmares. Now contrast this with KKR’s death bowling.
With every possible variety of spin available to choose from, Gambhir turned to Umesh Yadav and Andre Russell to bowl the last three. With Delhi needing 42 from 18 balls, the pacers conceded just 28 in the three overs, including a pretty pointless last over that went for 15 runs.
Even up front, Yadav and Russell bowled with good pace and great heart at the Delhi openers. Manoj Tiwary, picked in place of Mayank Agarwal and thrown into the deep end on his home ground, found the going especially tough. When the first strategic timeout was taken in Delhi’s innings, the scoreboard read 54-0 in 9 overs. But wickets in hand, in this case, meant no points on the table for Delhi.
Gambhir changes tactic with Narine back
Earlier in the evening, Gambhir had won the toss and for the first time this year put the opposition into bat. It was a decision that seemingly hinged on having “the leader of the attack” Narine back in the ranks. While Narine is undoubtedly a great asset for KKR, his form this year hasn’t been great.
In contrast to his impressive IPL career economy rate of 5.95, he has conceded at over 7 this year in the six matches he has played, picking up a mere two wickets. Admittedly this has been a season of turmoil for the West Indies star. But the fact that Gambhir mentioned, not once but twice, how important it is to have him back, showed the leadership skills of the Delhi man and his ability to rally the troops around him.
Duminy, who said he would have bowled first, did not get too many things right on the field. First, he missed a direct hit to run out Gambhir when he was closer to the stumps than the Kolkata skipper was. And then he saw his team drop catch after catch, including an old-fashioned right-through-the-fingers drop by Yuvraj at midwicket.
But it did not look like KKR were getting to a big total in a hurry, as Amit Mishra turned on the screws in his first two overs conceding just two runs and dismissing Robin Uthappa. Emphasising the importance of getting Gambhir’s wicket early against a spin-heavy attack, KKR sent in the only other recognised left hander in their side, Piyush Chawla, at No. 4. Promoted as a pinch-hitter to take on Mishra and Tahir, all that Chawla pinched was the Knight Riders’ momentum, as they scored at just over run a ball in the middle overs.
Yusuf Pathan had other ideas, however. He bid his time at the crease – something he has repeatedly done in this year’s IPL – and waited for the balls in his zone to be hit. And when the Delhi bowlers obliged with length balls outside his off stump, he launched them into the stands. Thirty of his 42 runs came off six boundary balls, while he patiently accumulated the remaining 12 runs off 18 balls. A mature Yusuf will be an ace up Gambhir’s sleeve towards the business end of the tournament.
Even so, Delhi could have restricted KKR to a par score of 160. But Imran Tahir proved expensive yet again towards the death. And in what was perhaps the clincher of the match, Zaheer was taken to the cleaners by Botha in the last over. The veteran fast bowler let his team down with some unimaginative bowling, repeatedly over-pitching outside the off stump.
Chawla makes amends with the ball
With the required run rate creeping beyond 10 as early as the seventh over of Delhi’s chase, Piyush Chawla had the freedom to express himself with the ball in his hands. This was not him batting at No. 4 against a good bowling attack. This was him in his zone.
He tossed the ball up for his leg spinners, didn’t overuse the wrong ‘un and even bowled a 113 kph straighter one. Chawla reaped the rewards of the tight opening burst from the fast bowlers and Narine, as Delhi chose him as the target to go after. All of his four wickets were catches taken on the boundary line, as he teased the Delhi batsmen with his variety.
In the end, Delhi never brought any momentum to the chase and, despite Shreyas Iyer’s cameo at the top and Angelo Mathews’s late burst, looked out of the game from the outset. JP Duminy said after the game that they leaked about 20 runs on the field, didn’t get a good start, and kept letting go of opportunities on the field.
It seems, sadly, that the only thing Delhi has got consistently right is their analysis of the defeats. In all honesty, if the Daredevils manage to pick up a couple of more wins, this would go down as a season in the right direction. They are now pretty much out of it, but there is the proverbial pride left to play for.
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