From a dramatic collapse in its opening game to an almost miraculous resurrection thereafter, followed by some inexplicable losses that has left the team dangling on the fringes and in danger of missing the play-offs yet again — such has been Delhi Daredevils’ campaign in the ninth season of the IPL so far.
With two games to go, at home-away-from-home (Raipur), it remains a tricky guess to predict who would be the 11 players turning out on the field. Daredevils have not played the same XI in two consecutive matches so far.
Unlike other teams that tend to have their batting, bowling or even fielding as the talking points, it is this uncertainty that seems to be the distinguishing feature for Daredevils.
And yet, perhaps it’s this very rotation policy that has meant that the team has not lost any player to injury.
What has flabbergasted everyone is not just the rotation of players but even the playing order with someone like Rishabh Pant coming in at No. 7 one day and opening the next!
Barring Quinton de Kock, no other player has had the luxury of a fixed spot.
Crucial points lostIt’s to the youngster’s credit that he has adapted to it all, as have the likes of Sanju Samson and Karun Nair.
Daredevils’ young line-up has shown potential but also the fallibility that inevitably accompanies inexperience. It has cost them some crucial points in close games, including the heartbreaking one-run defeat to Gujarat Lions.
Among the young squad, captain Zaheer Khan and J-P. Duminy have been the calming senior figures along with Amit Mishra spinning a web of calm in the middle overs.
They would need to do a lot more against table-topper Sunrisers Hyderabad if the host hopes to keep its play-offs chances alive. Sunrisers’ penultimate game could also well be the one that confirms it as the first team to secure a play-off spot and David Warner’s men would want to seal that up.
But its only loss in the last six outings came against Daredevils at home.
Warner has scored the bulk of the runs for the team and it is only in the last few matches that the rest, including Yuvraj Singh and Shikhar Dhawan, have put their hands up. Regardless, its batting has been as much about Warner as the bowling has been about the Bhuvneshwar Kumar-Mustafizur Rahman combine.
The clash of one of the most stable and settled teams against the most unpredictable one would be interesting.
Most of Daredevils’ results have been pretty comprehensive, regardless of the result. It is unlikely to change on Friday.
