Back story: Inconsistent Daredevils face batting MIght
Daredevils (lost to KKR)
What went wrong: Almost everything. Right from the toss. Put in to bat on a placid Kotla wicket, Delhi’s start was a disaster. They lost opener Mayank Agarwal in the second over followed by skipper JP Duminy in the fifth over. They failed to show a positive approach in the first six overs and let the KKR bowling dominate them fully. The scorecard, which read 34/2 at the end of six overs, narrated their sad condition. Then, once the field was spread, the question was to build on a partnership but soon Shreyas Iyer was castled by Piyush Chawla, inducing a dip immediately the run-rate had started to climb. While Iyer was one of the most important wicket for KKR, Delhi still kept losing wickets at equal intervals, ensuring a loss in the momentum. Then, a bizarre dismissal of Yuvraj Singh put paid to any hopes of a recovery.
What went right: Shreyas Iyer and Angelo Mathews were the only positives to be taken from the previous game. Despite Delhi losing opportunities to build on partnerships, Iyer and Mathews showed a positive approach to improvise and go after a clinical Kolkata bowling. Undoubtedly, KKR bowlers were on the money, but no batsmen other than these two tried to take on the bowling. As is the case in T20s, a batsman has to take the initiative in order to disturb the bowler’s line and length. First, Iyer milked eight runs off Morkel’s second over and then got seven from the eighth before getting out. Later it was Mathews who smashed Sunil Narine for 19 in the penultimate over to take Delhi to 146.
Mumbai Indians (bt RCB)
What went right: Mumbai collected their maiden win in five matches after defeating a rusty Bangalore. It was the only time when MI didn’t lose their first three wickets cheaply. Consequently, they went on to post the highest total of IPL 8 — 209. They lost the first wicket when they were 47 and followed it up with a 72-run stand — between Lendl Simmons and Unmukt Chand — for the second. Later, the ever reliable Rohit Sharma tore into the RCB attack. If batting was a plus, Harbhajan Singh sealed it with three wickets, including that of Chris Gayle, who was strangely subdued.
What went wrong: Apart from Harbhajan, who went at 6.75 an over, rest of the bowlers conceded more than eight an over.
Conclusion
The Delhi Daredevils are there, but not quite. JP Duminy feels their bowling needs to step up, but essentially it is their batting where the problem lies. The reverse is true of the Mumbai Indians. Rohit Sharma and Co will also go into Thursday’s game with the knowledge that their opponents have lost their last nine games at this venue.
