At the end of their quota of matches, they were unbeatable side. Lets not take into account of one off matches. I meant their tally of 4 losses out of 14. This side has really gelled well as a cohesive unit. Sehwag and Gambhir have struck forms at the right time before the T-20 world cup. Even when they were not doing well in initial matches, they had a fantastic middle order to pile up huge scores. T.Dilshan is in stupendous form throughout so far. A B De villiers is a definite asset to them. Setting a target or chasing down one, AB did it for them. Surprise factor was Dinesh Karthik, who hit purple patch throughout. He was fantastic with his cameos many a time. When Sehwag was missing from certain matches, they had Warner (New Australian sensation) who could join hands with Gambhir and set the tone.
Other than these heroes, they had some domestic names like Mithun Manhas, Manoj Tiwary who grabbed their chances whenever opportunity was provided. One could have easily spotted the domestic guy's performances when it comes to Delhi team's bowling performance in this season 2. Pradeep sangwan is easily my best choice of bowler from Indian domestic scene, for his repeated good performances. He is a smart bowler and I would love to see this guy represent India in future. He has the age by his side. He could have moulded himself with the able support of Glenn Mcgrath, who is sitting in the bench (Much to many viewer's shock, I should say).
Ashish Nehra and Nannes (from Australia) have been the best bowling pair in this IPL so far. Whenever Avishkar Salvi, Yo Mahesh and Rajat Bhatia came in to grab their chance, they proved handy to the bowling unit. Their side was blessed to have Daniel Vettori by their side. He is a true legend and he showed it yet again to the world, what class, he can bring in to the game of cricket.
Glenn Mcgrath and Collingwood (who left the side half way through) did not play in a single match so far. I do not see Sehwag bringing Mcgrath into the side for the semi finals. For the simple reason that he wants his best combination in bowling without Mcgrath. Its a funny statement because I could not picture Mcgrath sitting out of any cricket XI, but here in IPL, he never set foot on the cricket ground for 14 matches. Is Mcgrath fine about it ? Only Sehwag should tell. He is making his team click without Mcgrath's heroics. Mcgrath is behind this success for sure, as he is passing on his experience to domestic bowlers, but anyday I would pay to watch him roll his arms and bring down the stumps.
Fielding effort is also a plus for this champion team. AB De villiers easily leads this fielding side. Warner is quick across the turf. Dilshan is a fantastic outfielder and one of the punters in modern cricket. There are few indians who are young and exuberant and that fills the fielding hiccups. I have to say that Delhi Daredevils is a strong contender for the championship this time.
All they have to do is to have couple more good matches like they had so far, they will see themselves lifting the trophy. But one hiccup on the wrong time, all their effort so far would be bad mouthed by many stating that this team is a Choker. South African team carries the same name when it comes to World cup. I hope Delhi does not want to end up that way.
Thanks,
Prashy.
No comments:
Post a Comment