The Delhi Daredevils started this IPL in a pallid manner. They failed to chase down an easy target of less than 160 on a batting-friendly wicket at the Chinnaswamy stadium against the Royal Challengers Bangalore. The side looked inexperienced, mellow and especially weak against big teams with big names.
However, the team has truly come into its own now.
They have won two back to back matches by more than 50 runs each. If that isn’t emphatic in T20 cricket, nothing else is. The ‘Double Ds’ have a very sorted and smart captain in Zaheer Khan whose understanding of the game does deeper than most individuals. Calm faces of Paddy Upton and Rahul Dravid are also helping the youngsters in channelling their potential into performances on the pitch.
Their bowling attack is one of the best in the tournament, and with the likes of Rishabh Pant, Sam Billings, Sanju Samson and the newly added Corey Anderson, their batting too is slowly coming into its own.
Yesterday, a sensational 58 from Billings and a quick-fire 38 from Anderson helped DD to set up a steep chase for Kings XI Punjab. Their promising bowling attack did not disappoint as they scalped consistent wickets throughout the innings to bundle up the visitors for 137 runs. Chris Morris got a three-for while Shabaz Nadeem and Pat Cummins got a couple of wickets each. All in all, in was a good outing for the home side with the bat, with the ball and on the field.
Let us look at the leading run scorers and wicket takers in the tournament after DD v KXIP –
Leading Run Scorers:
| Position | Player | Matches | Innings | Runs | Average | Strike Rate | Highest |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gautam Gambhir (KKR) | 4 | 4 | 182 | 91 | 144.44 | 76 |
| 2 | David Warner (SRH) | 4 | 4 | 165 | 55 | 141.03 | 76* |
| 3 | Steve Smith (RPS) | 3 | 3 | 153 | 76.5 | 140.37 | 84* |
| 4 | Manish Pandey (KKR) | 4 | 3 | 152 | 152 | 155.10 | 81* |
| 5 | Nitish Rana (MI) | 4 | 4 | 140 | 35 | 128.44 | 50 |
| 6 | Sanju Samson (DD) | 3 | 3 | 134 | 44.67 | 144.09 | 102 |
| 7 | Hashim Amla (KXIP) | 4 | 4 | 130 | 43.33 | 125 | 58* |
| 8 | Chris Lynn (KKR) | 2 | 2 | 125 | 125 | 192.31 | 93* |
| 9 | Keiron Pollard (MI) | 4 | 4 | 125 | 51.25 | 135.87 | 70 |
| 10 | Shikhar Dhawan (SRH) | 4 | 4 | 120 | 30 | 114.29 | 48 |
Leading wicket takers:
| Position | Player | Matches | Overs | Wickets | Economy | Best Figures |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bhuvaneshwar Kumar (SRH) | 4 | 16 | 10 | 5.56 | 3 for 20 |
| 2 | Chris Morris (DD) | 3 | 10 | 7 | 6.3 | 3 for 21 |
| 3 | Rashid Khan (SRH) | 4 | 16 | 7 | 6.43 | 3 for 17 |
| 4 | Imran Tahir (RPS) | 4 | 16 | 7 | 8.37 | 3 for 28 |
| 5 | Andrew Tye (GL) | 1 | 4 | 5 | 4.25 | 5 for 17 |
| 6 | Pat Cummins (DD) | 4 | 11.1 | 5 | 6.8 | 2 for 23 |
| 7 | Zaheer Khan (DD) | 4 | 10.4 | 5 | 8.25 | 3 for 20 |
| 8 | Varun Aaron (KXIP) | 3 | 10 | 5 | 8.9 | 2 for 21 |
| 9 | Mitchell McClenaghan (MI) | 4 | 16 | 5 | 9.31 | 2 for 20 |
| 10 | Ashish Nehra (SRH) | 4 | 16 | 5 | 9.37 | 2 for 42 |
As we can see, even one day of action changes the table positions by a substantial margin. While Gambhir and Warner have maintained their top spots in the orange cap race, the places below them have all changed considerably.
The purple cap is now on Bhuvaneshwar Kumar’s head. As the season progresses, it would be interesting to see which player plays that one big innings or takes those five crucial wickets to create a significant gap between him and others.
Let us look at the points table now:
| Position | Team | Matches | Won | Lost | No Result | NRR | Points | Last Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kolkata Knight Riders | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1.265 | 6 | Beat SRH by 17 runs |
| 2 | Mumbai Indians | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0.308 | 6 | Beat RCB by 4 wickets |
| 3 | Delhi Daredevils | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2.217 | 4 | Beat KXIP by 51 runs |
| 4 | Sunrisers Hyderabad | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0.632 | 4 | Lost to KKR by 17 runs |
| 5 | Kings XI Punjab | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | -0.309 | 4 | Lost to DD by 51 runs |
| 6 | Royal Challengers Bangalore | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | -1.044 | 2 | Lost to MI by 4 wickets |
| 7 | Gujarat Lions | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | -1.386 | 2 | Beat RPS by 7 wickets |
| 8 | Rising Pune Supergiant | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | -1.537 | 2 | Lost to GL by 7 wickets |
The Kolkata Knight Riders have overtaken the Mumbai Indians and are looking stronger with every match. The Gambhir-led team defeated the Sunrisers Hyderabad in the day game yesterday at the Eden Gardens. The Delhi Daredevils are looking good at the third place wherein they have an extra match to make up for their 2-point deficit.
The tussle for the top four will be tight this season. Let us wait and watch to see who manages to breakthrough and how!
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