The Delhi Daredevils have now lost five games, the most by any team in the tournament so far, and are rock bottom in the table. They were not expected to do well in the tournament, as their player choices in the auction were not awe inspiring, but no one expected them to perform this badly either.
There are many factors for their dismal performance in the tournament so far. Virendar Sehwag started the tournament with too much on his shoulders, and continues to do so. The team is immediately on a back foot after his fall, irrespective of their position in the game. The opposition too sniffs the opportunity to have a go at the team and invariably, they do. The lack of a good middle order is also a contribution to this.
The Daredevils have used a variety of players in the middle order. Aaron Finch, Matthew Wade, James Hopes and Travis Birt are the four foreigners used and the domestic players include Venugopal Rao, Naman Ojha, Irfan Pathan and Yogesh Nagar. None of the batsmen inspire any confidence and do not have the ability to hold the innings together. Another problem that Delhi has is that their two most explosive batsmen bat at the top and there is no one to finish the innings well.
Someone like Colin Ingram deserves a chance to play in this team. He has two international hundreds for South Africa and is also a sound T20 player. His presence at number three can help the innings have a bit of stability and momentum.
The lack of a good spinner in the team has also hurt them badly. Roelof van der Merwe is the only accomplished foreign spinner and Finch can bowl a bit. Shabaz Nadeem is probably their best slow bowling option and that speaks a lot about the squad. Blame the selectors or the coach, but it is plain foolishness to go into a tournament in India, at this time of the year, without a good spinner.
Their fast bowlers, too, are predictable and are hit the deck bowlers. Irfan Pathan has not lived up to the name of a marquee signing and has struggled with his line and length. Morne Morkel has toiled hard and while he has found rewards, he has not been supported by his team mates.
The Daredevils are now backed into a corner and now have no option but to fight. They need to play their spinners, whoever they have, more and need to support them on slow tracks.
