Indian Premier League 2010 Team Profile – Delhi face inner demons in bid to secure inaugural title
by Juris Graney
One of only two teams to reach the semi-finals on both occasions, the Delhi Daredevils are quite rightly positioned as one of the true championship contenders for 2010.
Futures Odds to win Indian Premier League 2010:
Delhi Daredevils +400
Chennai Super Kings +450
Deccan Chargers +450
Bangalore Royal Challengers +600
Rajasthan Royals +650
Kings XI Punjab +700
Mumbai Indians +800
Kolkata Knight Riders +800
SQUAD: Gautam Gambhir (captain), Sarabjit Ladda, Joginder Singh, Rajat Bhatia, AB de Villiers, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Moises Henriques, Kedar Jadhav, Dinesh Karthik, Andrew McDonald, Farveez Maharoof, Mithun Manhas, Amit Mishra, Dirk Nannes, Ashish Nehra, Wayne Parnell, Shashi Ranjan, Aavishkar Salvi, Pradeep Sangwan, Sarandeep Singh, Virender Sehwag, David Warner, Umesh Yadav
Built around a solid foundation of India’s top batsmen coupled with cameos from Australia’s best and South Africa’s young guns, Delhi will be an outfit feared by many they play this tournament.
After a rough end to the 2008 season which saw them lose more than they won but still managing to sneak through to the semi-finals a loss to eventual champions Rajasthan steeled their resolve for the 2009 tournament.
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Finishing on top of the regular season ladder should have meant an easy progression through to the final but their tilt at championship glory was again cut short when eventual winners of 2009, the Deccan Chargers, bundled them out in the semi.
Two conclusions can be reached about their exit from the tournament in the semis. The first is that they are chokers, their international stars unable to handle the pressure of a do-or-die affair or secondly they simply came up against teams that were hitting their peak form at the right end of the tournament.
If you picked the latter than you would be right. The likes of Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag and Tillakaratne Dilshan are not regular backyard cricketers prone to bouts of nerves in tight situations, they are quite rightly ranked as among the world’s best batsmen.
Similarly too the bowlers are of equally high standards and some have even based their careers on success in the IPL. Dirk Nannes for instance was a veritable unknown before the IPL but he is now representing Australia in Twenty20 and not before long he will be vying for a regular one-day spot.
The same can be said for Ashish Nera, Pradeep Sangwan and all-rounder Rajat Bhatia.
Throw in Australian all-rounders Andrew McDonald and NSW Blues captain Moises Henriques and this is a team that should go all the way this season.
KEY INTERNATIONAL : AB de Villiers (South Africa): The only Daredevil to notch a century, de Villiers is in that unenviable position in the middle order whereby if he comes in early he is needed to build an innings and if he comes in late he is required to go the slap straight away. The third highest run scorer in 2009 behind Adam Gilchrist and Matthew Hayden, de Villiers was striking at 130.98 and averaging 51.66 placing him squarely in the focus of opposition bowlers.
SIDE NOTE: The Daredevils, despite making it through to the league stage of the Champions League Twenty20 tournament failed to make the finals race in a disappointing effort, something they will be trying to forget ahead of their first match against Kings XI Punjab in Mohali on March 13.
AREAS TO WATCH: The opening partnership – Gautam Gambhir (0) and David Warner (0) both fell in the first over of last year’s semi-final to leave them 2/0 and it wasn’t the first time the openers failed. Thankfully the top and middle order has a habit of salvaging a sinking ship but it means slow going to build a total as opposed to being able to blaze a total. Delhi’s top score last year was 5/189 against Chennai and was again due no thanks to the openers, Gambhir and Sehwag, who scored just six runs between them. The overall total doesn’t sound like a lot but it was the second top score of the tournament behind the Royals 5/211. The big scores of 200-plus in 2008 were replaced by a host of 180-190 scores, which may drop again as bowlers hone their skills. In 2009 the opening partnership failed more often then not and despite a couple of cavalier knocks from Warner and Gambhir, the bulk of the work was forced further down the list.
LOCAL INTERESTS: Pradeep Sangwan , the 19-year-old from Delhi could be a revelation this tournament. His 20 fixtures since 2008 has yielded 20 wickets but it’s the way he goes about his work that is the most impressive thing. Hard working and diligent in the field, he along with 30-year-old veteran all rounder Rajat Bhatia will be keenly watched.
BOWLING RANKS: Wayne Parnell (South Africa) -- Bought for US$610,000, the Proteas quick has a lot of work ahead of him this season but he is well and truly up for the task. Menacing as he is accurate, this season could see him break all kinds of records if he hits the right lines. As mentioned Dirk Nannes will be a key quick as will Kiwi captain Daniel Vettori whose annoying left-arm orthodox spin not only bores batsmen to death but when he gets them to spin he can jag them about. Sri Lanka’s Farveez Maharoof has done some damage in his 13 matches taking 19 wickets at an average of 16.52.
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