Published: Apr 13, 2015, 08:56 AM (IST)
Edited: Apr 13, 2015, 04:28 PM (IST)
Tim Southee dealt an excruciating last-ball blow to help Rajasthan Royals snatch the most slender win against Delhi Daredevils in match six of the 8th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). The rout extended DD’s string of losses to a record 11 on the trot, matching the plight of the dysfunctional Pune Warriors India. Ankur Dhawan believes that DD might soon lose the plot if victory continues to elude after staring them in the face so painfully close on two occasions, even as Rajasthan Royals already look like the team to beat this season.
Cliffhangers aren’t a covenant for quality cricket. The match between the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) was a closely contested but lousy game of cat and mouse. But, perhaps, it is unfair to judge T20 cricket on a parameter other than mindless entertainment. At the Feroz Shah Kotla we were tantalised again by the Delhi Daredevils and a spirited Rajasthan Royals. This, on the contrary, was a great moment for cricket in general. Rajasthan Royals, who seem to be thriving in the most congenial team environment, have won two on the bounce, while despite two losses, Delhi Daredevils appear a vastly improved outfit who are struggling to close out games. DD fans would hope dearly that their team isn’t deflated by successive defeats, especially considering the psychological baggage they carry from previous outings.
Perhaps the weight of history is beginning to tell in the IPL as well, as the tournament grows older. Delhi Daredevils finished bottom of the table in 2014. The core of their side went through a metamorphosis. Fresh faces were ordered: Yuvraj Singh, Angelo Mathews, Albie Morkel, Zaheer Khan and Amit Mishra were bought. However, each one of them was nagged by the thought that the owners, the support staff and the fans had been let down the previous couple of years. After two tight games into the tournament, the wins column remains barren. Kedar Jadhav’s grim countenance at the end of a gut wrenching defeat radiated the accumulated pain of an arid past.
For majority of the 40 overs it felt that Delhi had done enough, that they would finally clamber out of the rut they were in. There was a sense of inexorable march of destiny in the way the match had panned thus far. Mayank Agarwal set the ball rolling with the most attractive 37 in the history of the IPL. Shreyas Iyer’s suave 40 off 30 balls vindicated his purchase. It wasn’t just the runs but the astute manner in which the young man constructed an innings that helped a struggling JP Duminy find his feet at the other end. Yuvraj and Mathews provided the finishing kick to help Delhi past the 180-run barrier which they had last breached eons ago.
With a substantial total on the board, the game was tailor made for their spin-twins; Imran Tahir and Amit Mishra, who came to the party and bamboozled the Royals batsmen with their sorcery. When Tahir dismantled James Faulkner and Deepak Hooda in the penultimate over, Delhi had the elusive win within arm’s length. To romanticize it further, Kolkata Knight Rider’s winning streak was stalled at the Eden Gardens just the previous night. However Delhi’s hopes were shredded by a little known Hooda and Rajasthan’s uncanny knack of excavating inspiration from thin air in time of need. In retrospect, Hooda’s missed run-out chance proved pivotal: Delhi played well enough to win, but didn’t. Can anything be more disheartening? READ: Deepak Hooda attributes success to Rahul Dravid
Rajasthan, on the other hand, exude the confidence that Steven Smith, James Faulkner and Tim Southee have carried with them from their successful World Cup campaign. The teamseems to be feeding off their winning habit. Smith played a lone hand for RR in a tough battle against Kings XI Punjab before Faulkner’s lower order heroics with the bat and a decisive spell with the ball secured a comfortable win. Southee had set the tone for a tricky defence with the wicket of Virender Sehwag off the very first ball in that match. While their performances were sub-par against DD, contributions came at critical junctures. Faulkner inflicted on Delhi bowlers some of the pain he had received with the ball before Southee finished the game with a single rage-fuelled blow to the fence. Despite not playing at their optimum, Rajasthan Royals cleared the hump. The Royals have been richly rewarded with early success that they can build on. They have sounded an emphatic warning to the rest of the teams. In a very small sample size, they already look like the team to beat this season. Rahul Dravid’s animated reaction was a reflection of how serious RR are about owning this IPL.
The result was deeply disappointing for Delhi though, who must wonder what magic can break the hoodoo. In an unforgiving format, Delhi could fall deeper into the bottomless abyss unless they are re-united with the rub of the green.
(Ankur Dhawan, heavily influenced by dystopian novels, naturally has about 59 conspiracy theories for every moment in the game of cricket. On finding a direct link between his head and the tip of his fingers, he also writes about it.)
