IPL 8 Match Preview: Laggards v IPL front-runners
DD (Lost to SRH)
What went wrong: The loss pushed the Delhi Daredevils out of the tournament. It had also moments that showed why they haven’t done so well this year. Sunrisers Hyderabad were going slow for more than half of the game – the run rate was under six, in fact, but DD started to be profligate in the end overs. Moises Henriques, who had started slowly, found his timing and DD yielded 64 runs in the last five overs, with the likes of Albie Morkel & Co wilting under the pressure of Henriques’ fiery knock.
What Went right: Kedhar Jadhav hit his second IPL fifty, dragged the required run rate against SRH to manageable levels before losing touch and watching his team go down. However, it was good while it lasted. He smashed seven fours and two sixes, reached his fifty off 24 deliveries, but lost his way a bit right in the end, though he finished unbeaten on 34-ball 63. They had needed 99 from the final ten and Jadhav got it down to 29 from 18 balls, but he lost steam in the end. DD also found an opener in Quinton de Kock, who hit a breezy fifty in his first IPL game of the season.
CSK (beat RR)
What went Wrong: All season MS Dhoni has struggled to keep control in the middle-overs—a rather new issue for the Chennai Super Kings skipper—and the main reason has been the untoward form of his two most trustworthy bowlers, Ravindra Jadeja and Mohit Sharma. Both of whom finally came to the party in the all-important clash against the Rajasthan Royals. Jadeja ran through the RR top-order, spinning out Shane Watson, Steve Smith, Karun Nair and Deepak Hooda, and finished with remarkable figures of 4/11 in his full quota. Mohit, who’s gone at over 9-an-over this season, finally got his rhythm going, and finished with 3/25, including the wickets of Ajinkya Rahane and James Faulkner.
It was also a day where Brendon McCullum did the unthinkable, opting for a steadier gear rather than going berserk from the very start. He cruised to 40 with a strike-rate just over 100 before finishing up with 81 off 61 balls, a knock that was apt to the situation CSK found themselves in — 15 for two.
What Went Wrong: Suresh Raina, the other CSK regular who Dhoni banks on, hasn’t really fired much this season, scoring two half-centuries against RCB. Worryingly for his team, he has fallen to soft dismissals far too often. Like he did against RR, chipping a Chris Morris delivery to mid-off after being softened up by a couple of short-pitched deliveries. That reduced the score to 15/2 with Dwayne Smith, another CSK talisman fighting for form, dying by the sword with a loose shot.
Conclusion
Chennai will start as the favourites, and if anything this game will be a chance for their misfiring middle order to come good ahead of the playoffs. They have also been a bit patchy in some of their away games and will probably look to iron out the flaws. With nothing but pride at stake, can Delhi at least start playing a bit freely and express themselves?
