Delhi daredevils reached top of IPL points table with a eight wicket win over Chennai Super kings in Chennai. Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir decimated Chennai bowlers at Chepauk stadium. This is the first loss for Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League. Chennai seems to be losing steam after the exit of Mathew Hayden, Michael Hussey and Jacob Oram.
Analysis of Delhi daredevils:
Secrets of Delhi’s success:
1. It bought real gems in their respective fields but not bits and pieces (Shoaib Malik is an exception). Glenn McGrath and Mohammad Asif may not bat but can rattle any batsman with their line and length which is essential in any form of cricket.
2. It bought players who will be available for entire season. Chennai missed the services of Australian giants, Mathew Hayden and Michael Hussey at crucial stage.
3. Delhi’s top order (Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir and Shikhar Dhawan) are in scintillating form. Dare Devils are destroying opposition by losing just one or two wickets. Delhi batsmen scored 796 runs in 87 overs.
4. Like Adam Gilchrist, when Virender Sehwag is on song, no bowler in the world can do anything. He is one of the most destructive batsmen in world cricket. He is sending right signals to national selectors through IPL matches.
5. Along with Mathew Hayden, Gautam Gambhir is the best twenty20 batsmen in the world.
6. Shikhar Dhawan is the find of the IPL 2008 along with Abhishek Nayar, Ravinder Jadeja and Asnodkar. Ravi Teja missed this bus due to Hyderabad selection politics.
Delhi weaknesses:
1. Daniel Vettori went back to New Zealand. It is difficult to replace most successful spinner in the Twenty20 Cricket world cup.
2. When compared to wicketkeepers like MS Dhoni, Adam Gilchrist, Mark Boucher, McCullum and Kumara Sangakkara, Delhi’s Dinesh Karthik is looking weak in batting.
3. Lack of big hitters in the middle and late order will be exploited in the tight matches. Opposition knows that Delhi Daredevils lose steam if they can take top 3 wickets which was exposed by Mohali IPL.
My favourite in Delhi IPL team:
Glenn McGrath. He defied age. He silenced critics. He once again proved eternal quotation “Class is permanent and form is temporary”. He is bowling tight spells against top class openers that too in twenty20 cricket matches. He is a real legend. McGrath may have taken another 100 test wickets if he was not retired.
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