Kolkata Knight Riders have been oozing class after their tremendous run in this season’s Indian Premier League. On the other hand, Delhi Daredevils have experienced a roller-coaster ride over the course of the tournament.
Nevertheless, the slump for the Daredevils continued as the Kolkata Knight Riders romped home to victory by seven wickets with 22 balls to spare. The icing on the cake was Gautam Gambhir winning back the orange cap.
With the win, Kolkata held on their number one position and after the smashing, Delhi are currently placed at the bottom of the table. We take a look at five things that went wrong for the Delhi Daredevils team in the match.
#5 Dropped catches
Catches win matches – a phrase in all formats of the game that imply the difference between a win and a loss. There have been more than 60 catches dropped in this season of the Indian Premier League and it shows the shambolic standards of fielding set by the teams.
Delhi Daredevils’ fielding on the night was off-track, especially their catching. Defending 160, Delhi got off to a decent start when Kagiso Rabada castled the danger-man Sunil Narine with a brilliant out-swinger.
They got a chance when Uthappa skied a ball only for it to be spilled by the fielder and that eventually cost the Daredevils the match as he made them pay with an innings of 59 runs from 33 balls.
#4 Pant’s position
Rishabh Pant has been a revelation for the Delhi Daredevils with the bat in hand, spanking the best in the business around the entire circumference of the stadium. He has also displayed tremendous temperament and the ability to pull his team out of the pits.
But somewhere down the line, the Daredevils missed a trick by sending Pant low down the batting order. In the Daredevils’ previous encounter with the Knights at the Feroz Shah Kotla, Pant impressed with a quick-fire knock that helped Delhi post a decent total.
The Daredevils have had their woes at the top of the order and Pant’s promotion to the opening slot might just be what the Delhi team needs to utilise their batting resources more judiciously. With the IPL 2017 nearing its business end, Delhi need some inspiration to keep themselves afloat.
#3 Morris’s batting position
The South African is an indispensable part of the Delhi team with both his batting and bowling skills. While his bowling skills have been utilised to the fullest, it’s his batting that hasn’t been used cleverly by the Delhi team management.
In a few games with the willow, he was able to take the bowlers to the cleaners, but often he hasn’t faced enough balls to make any sort of an impact on the game. His batting position has been a tad too low.
Even today he faced a mere 10 balls, which is way too low for the Proteas all-rounder. Morris has an experienced head on his shoulders and has the ability to construct an innings before going hammer and tongs which can work wonders for the Delhi team going forward – if they push him up the order.
#2 Amit Mishra’s ineffectiveness
Amit Mishra has been Delhi’s go to man in crisis situations and rightly so, considering the resourceful variations he possesses. However, he was Delhi’s most expensive bowler in today’s contest against the Kolkata Knight Riders.
Robin Uthappa and Gautam Gambhir took Mishra to the cleaners with some extravagant display of batting with the willow. They didn’t take their foot off the gas and Mishra was found wanting on a decent batting wicket at the Eden Gardens.
He ended up conceding 36 runs at an economy of 12 runs an over and failed to halt the run flow, which Delhi desperately needed.
#1 Karun Nair’s selection
Karun Nair’s form has been extremely disappointing in this edition of the VIVO Indian Premier League. He has struggled to find his feet at any stage of the tournament. Today was no different as Sunil Narine got the better of him when was looking to take his innings up a gear.
In his knock of 15 from 17 balls, he scorched three boundaries that included a classy square drive through the point region. But other than that, he was tied down as he failed to rotate the strike enough to keep the scorecard ticking.
After a dismal show in the middle order in previous matches, Nair was sent to open the batting, but he couldn’t hit his straps in the top order either.
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