Another batting failure, another defeat. Delhi Daredevils skipper Mahela Jayawardene may soon run out of options to arrest his team’s poor run of form.
The latest ploy to send Roelof van der Merwe ahead of David Warner at No. 3 failed to work against Kings XI Punjab on Tuesday, a contest which DD lost by five wickets.
“We don’t have any power in the middle order, unlike last year. We need somebody experienced there who can clear the boundaries too. I thought Davy (Warner) did pretty well,” said Jayawardene at the post-match media conference.
The Sri Lankan added that Twenty20 matches are won by batsmen and his team should have scored at least 140-150.
When questioned on DD’s constantly rotating team combination, Jayawardene replied that injuries were a major factor behind it. “We played Venu in the last game here (at Ferozeshah Kotla), but he pulled his hamstring and he’s almost out of the tournament,” said the captain.
Jayawardene also defended his decision to pick Johan Botha instead of Morne Morkel. “We needed an off-spinner, keeping in mind Kings XI had a few left-handers in their line-up,” said the DD captain.
Gilchrist pleased
Jayawardene’s counterpart Adam Gilchrist, however, was much pleased with his side’s batting and singled out Mandeep Singh and Manan Vohra for praise.
The Australian added that getting Sehwag and Jayawardene out early was crucial since there are short boundaries on offer for the batsmen at this stadium.
Looking ahead to three more away games over the next week or so, Gilchrist expected a tougher test from “more fancy teams” like Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings.
