When Delhi had to take the tyre-sponsored strategic timeout in the second innings, Royal Challengers Bangalore required 9 runs from 11 overs. One can only imagine what exactly the captain and coach would have said during that time, but my money would be on two and a half minutes of awkward silence.
Because, when the going got tough, Delhi's batsmen decided it was time to go home early. Royal Challengers Bangalore dismantled the Daredevils at the Kotla on Sunday, winning by 10 wickets and with more balls to spare than any of the Delhi batsman managed to face. The crowd had only Delhi-boy Virat Kohli’s brief but bright cameo to cheer for, as the Royal Challengers’ openers completed the formality of a victory after Delhi were bowled out for 95.
It was a classic case of one step forward and two steps back for the Daredevils. Maybe the best way to analyse this game for Kirsten & Co. is to pretend it never happened and start from scratch.
Delhi batsmen, clueless
JP Duminy must now be tired of saying “I would have bowled first too” after losing the toss yet again. Having been asked to set a target, Daredevils lost their in-form opener Shreyas Iyer in the first over. Mitchell Starc, who has thoroughly revitalised this Bangalore squad, bowled an inswinging yorker that would have probably missed the leg stump. Iyer had taken his own sweet time to bring his bat down against arguably the world’s best bowler right now and paid the price for it. The game, as they, is a great leveller as Iyer walked back without troubling the scorers.
Duminy must by now be used to walking in at No. 3 in the first couple of overs, as the openers are simply unable to stitch a partnership together. And that was the story of their innings – lack of partnerships. Mayank Agarwal and Duminy had the only meaningful stand, which was ended by David Wiese finding the skipper’s under-edge of the bat, the catch being taken by Dinesh Karthik. From then on, it was all downhill for Delhi.
Another ex-player returns to haunt the Daredevils
One of the consequences of rebuilding the franchise like Delhi have repeatedly done is that there are quite a few players around in the league with a point to prove to their former employers. The Daredevils ran into one such player in Varun Aaron today. The pacer, who had an unsuccessful, injury-marred two-year spell with Delhi, was struggling initially. However, his pace – his biggest asset – was up there in the high 140s, as Agarwal top-edged a well directed bouncer for a six. He was taken for 20 runs in his first two overs.
But he came back to the attack – and how! In his third over, he got Yuvraj Singh and Angelo Mathews off successive deliveries, both of them owing to his pace and ability to extract extra bounce. The Delhi pitch has favoured bowlers who can hit the deck hard and generate movement and today wasn’t any different. Yuvraj fended one that moved away from short of the good length and Mathews got into an almighty tangle with a short ball aimed at his ribs, cramping himself for room. Aaron’s pace troubled the Delhi batsmen no end as he conceded a mere four runs in his last two overs.
Nothing’s going right
Delhi’s two most expensive players this year are not creating the impact their team expects them to. Yuvraj, despite that one knock against Punjab, has repeatedly misfired. You could have forgiven the Royal Challengers’ think-tank for having a little chuckle as they released him last year after paying Rs 12 crore. Delhi, who paid Rs 4 crore more to sign him, now badly needs him back in form and quickly.
Kedhar Jadhav was the only Delhi player to emerge with some credit on the night, scoring 33 off 29 balls, the high point being two fours in an over from the fire-breathing Mitchell Starc. But the tail could not wag against the Aussie pacer, who, along with Wiese, bought a premature end to Delhi’s innings.
The Daredevils’ decision to leave out Manoj Tiwary for Shahbaz Nadeem’s left-arm spin did not affect them in the last match against the Mumbai Indians, as the top-order had clicked. In hindsight, Delhi could have addressed their batting depth, considering the rich vein of form the Bangalore bowlers came with for this game.
As Duminy said post-match, absolutely nothing went right for Delhi in this game and a lot of lessons have to be learned. But the only thing that has been consistent about the lower half teams in this year’s IPL is their inconsistency. Punjab, Hyderabad, Mumbai and Bangalore (to a lesser extent) are all struggling to generate any real momentum and that should give hope to the Daredevils. Gary Kirsten’s troops must put together a run of wins, starting with the game against Punjab at the Kotla on Friday.
Duminy now has five days to pray to the powers-that-be to get him to win a toss, at the very least. That would be a good place to start their recovery from this mauling.
Royal Challengers Bangalore (99 for 0) beat Delhi Daredevils (95) by 10 wickets.
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Because, when the going got tough, Delhi's batsmen decided it was time to go home early. Royal Challengers Bangalore dismantled the Daredevils at the Kotla on Sunday, winning by 10 wickets and with more balls to spare than any of the Delhi batsman managed to face. The crowd had only Delhi-boy Virat Kohli’s brief but bright cameo to cheer for, as the Royal Challengers’ openers completed the formality of a victory after Delhi were bowled out for 95.
It was a classic case of one step forward and two steps back for the Daredevils. Maybe the best way to analyse this game for Kirsten & Co. is to pretend it never happened and start from scratch.
Delhi batsmen, clueless
JP Duminy must now be tired of saying “I would have bowled first too” after losing the toss yet again. Having been asked to set a target, Daredevils lost their in-form opener Shreyas Iyer in the first over. Mitchell Starc, who has thoroughly revitalised this Bangalore squad, bowled an inswinging yorker that would have probably missed the leg stump. Iyer had taken his own sweet time to bring his bat down against arguably the world’s best bowler right now and paid the price for it. The game, as they, is a great leveller as Iyer walked back without troubling the scorers.
Duminy must by now be used to walking in at No. 3 in the first couple of overs, as the openers are simply unable to stitch a partnership together. And that was the story of their innings – lack of partnerships. Mayank Agarwal and Duminy had the only meaningful stand, which was ended by David Wiese finding the skipper’s under-edge of the bat, the catch being taken by Dinesh Karthik. From then on, it was all downhill for Delhi.
Another ex-player returns to haunt the Daredevils
One of the consequences of rebuilding the franchise like Delhi have repeatedly done is that there are quite a few players around in the league with a point to prove to their former employers. The Daredevils ran into one such player in Varun Aaron today. The pacer, who had an unsuccessful, injury-marred two-year spell with Delhi, was struggling initially. However, his pace – his biggest asset – was up there in the high 140s, as Agarwal top-edged a well directed bouncer for a six. He was taken for 20 runs in his first two overs.
But he came back to the attack – and how! In his third over, he got Yuvraj Singh and Angelo Mathews off successive deliveries, both of them owing to his pace and ability to extract extra bounce. The Delhi pitch has favoured bowlers who can hit the deck hard and generate movement and today wasn’t any different. Yuvraj fended one that moved away from short of the good length and Mathews got into an almighty tangle with a short ball aimed at his ribs, cramping himself for room. Aaron’s pace troubled the Delhi batsmen no end as he conceded a mere four runs in his last two overs.
Nothing’s going right
Delhi’s two most expensive players this year are not creating the impact their team expects them to. Yuvraj, despite that one knock against Punjab, has repeatedly misfired. You could have forgiven the Royal Challengers’ think-tank for having a little chuckle as they released him last year after paying Rs 12 crore. Delhi, who paid Rs 4 crore more to sign him, now badly needs him back in form and quickly.
Kedhar Jadhav was the only Delhi player to emerge with some credit on the night, scoring 33 off 29 balls, the high point being two fours in an over from the fire-breathing Mitchell Starc. But the tail could not wag against the Aussie pacer, who, along with Wiese, bought a premature end to Delhi’s innings.
The Daredevils’ decision to leave out Manoj Tiwary for Shahbaz Nadeem’s left-arm spin did not affect them in the last match against the Mumbai Indians, as the top-order had clicked. In hindsight, Delhi could have addressed their batting depth, considering the rich vein of form the Bangalore bowlers came with for this game.
As Duminy said post-match, absolutely nothing went right for Delhi in this game and a lot of lessons have to be learned. But the only thing that has been consistent about the lower half teams in this year’s IPL is their inconsistency. Punjab, Hyderabad, Mumbai and Bangalore (to a lesser extent) are all struggling to generate any real momentum and that should give hope to the Daredevils. Gary Kirsten’s troops must put together a run of wins, starting with the game against Punjab at the Kotla on Friday.
Duminy now has five days to pray to the powers-that-be to get him to win a toss, at the very least. That would be a good place to start their recovery from this mauling.
Royal Challengers Bangalore (99 for 0) beat Delhi Daredevils (95) by 10 wickets.
