Well there is no need to be overly dramatic about it, it is just cricket and not even Test. That said, the Delhi Daredevils have had quite the terrible week. The Daredevils have had four matches and managed to lose each and every one of them and in doing so knocked themselves out of any playoff chance. This is a team that was looking to come back from a disastrous campaign last season and they’ve managed to repeat that again in IPL 8.
There is no real need to dig into the past four matches as they’ve been very similar to the performances throughout the season. Giving up cheap wickets, poor fielding, lack of solid batting partnerships, the list goes on. Any of the typical reason that teams struggle can be found in the Delhi lineup this year and especially present in their five May matches.
One of the biggest disappointments for Delhi this season has been Yuvraj Singh. The most expensive player in the tournament has, save for two or three matches, been incredibly poor. “Yuvi” has managed a total of two runs in the past two matches. In fact, he has three matches were he has knocked in only two runs. In the ten matches he has batted in, Singh has run totals below ten in six of them. Yes, he did manage to knock in 57 and 54 in two matches, but those hardly make him worth his Rs 16 crore price tag.
Another disappointment has been the team selection. Besides Gary Kirsten’s strange batting order in the season opener versus Chennai, it has been odd to see Quinton de Kock get only one game this year. The restriction on foreign players does not make it easy, but on his season debut today de Kock knocked in 50 runs. It certainly would have been nice to have seen him open the batting a few more matches this year.
All in all, a very disappointing year for Daredevil fans and unfortunately there are still two very tough matches to go before the curtain comes down on their IPL 8. The Daredevils take on Chennai on Tuesday and end the season against Bangalore next Sunday, in what will most likely be two crushing defeats.
From Hyderabad to Hove 