Karun Nair’s failures pulling down Daredevils
POOR RUN Be it the Wankhede, DY Patil or Brabourne Stadium, DD have managed just one win in seven matches
December, Karun Nair became Indian cricket’s latest heartthrob after the Karnataka batsman’s unbeaten 303 against England at Chennai, in only his third Test.
While life hasn’t been the same for Nair post his triple ton, Nair’s batting graph too seems to have taken a beating.
The 25-year-old has scored only 58 runs in five matches (four innings), clearly struggling with his form in IPL 10.
Nair’s poor run, which is hurting Delhi Daredevils’ momentum in the middle overs as well, has raised fresh concerns for coach Rahul Dravid and Co over whether to continue with Nair at No 3 or take a decision on promoting someone else.
In Delhi Daredevils’ last match against Sunrisers Hyderabad on Wednesday, Nair posted his best score (33) in the 15 innings he has played since his whirlwind triple ton. That Nair is clearly short on confidence was evident at the way he approached his innings against Kolkata Knight Riders earlier this week.
He took 17 balls for his 21 in which he managed to hit just one boundary. Out of the 15 dot balls Delhi Daredevils played in their 168/7 in 20 overs, Nair consumed 10 dots.
While Nair succeeded in the last IPL for Delhi Daredevils at No 3 with 357 runs in 12 innings, the second highest for the team, this time around Dravid and Co can push the likes of Shreyas Iyer, who has proved his worth at the same position for Mumbai in the domestic season in the last few seasons. While pressure may be mounting on Nair to prove his worth, Delhi Daredevils’ senior cricketer Angelo Mathews backed his teammate to come good.
“Karun Nair is a fine player who can win us games and is on the verge of winning a game or two. It’s quite difficult to be consistent throughout the season,” said Mathews.
The triple century seems to be weighing on Karun Nair. He scored just 54 runs in four innings in the Test series against Australia with his footwork looking a bit unsure.
With key players JP Duminy and Quinton de Kock missing, DD will need their batsmen to fire in unison.
It has been a perfect combination for Sunrisers Hyderabad since the two losses against former IPL champions Mumbai Indians and Kolkata Knight Riders. While their batsmen have fired in unison to pile up quality runs on board, their bowlers have held sway over the opposition batting by keeping them in check during the crucial overs. The rivalry between Delhi and Mumbai is one of the fiercest in Ranji Trophy. While Mumbai are the undisputed kings with 41 titles, Delhi have often given them a run for their money with seven titles to their credit.
The rivalry has spilled over to the Indian Premier League (IPL) where Mumbai Indians and Delhi Daredevils are the only teams to have a head-to-head contest that is even.
In 18 matches, both teams have won and lost an equal number of matches. Mumbai will have a chance to go one-up on Delhi when they clash at the Wankhede here on Saturday. The Daredevils’ priority would be to break their Mumbai jinx. They have rarely managed to find success whenever they have squared up against Mumbai in the financial capital
Zaheer Khan needs one wicket to complete 100 wickets in IPL. He will become the 10th bowler to reach the milestone. The left-arm pacer has taken 99 wickets at 26.49 in 93 innings.
Harbajan Singh needs one wicket to become the third Indian and 19th bowler to complete 200 wickets in Twenty20 cricket.
of India.
In seven IPL clashes, Mumbai Indians have emerged triumphant on six occasions in matches played at Wankhede, and DY Patil Stadium and Brabourne Stadium (MI’s adopted homes when Wankhede was being renovated for the 2011 World Cup).
The only time Daredevils found everything going for them was during the 2012 clash at Wankhede where the Harbhajan Singh-led side was bowled out for 92 to lose by seven wickets.
“In terms of not winning in Mumbai, if you look at the last 5-6 games, Mumbai have been on a roll, home or away. It’s a tough ask but we have the firepower to do it. It’s just that we need to click,” said Daredevils’ all-rounder and Sri Lanka skipper Angelo Mathews on the eve of the clash.
The toss will be crucial as both teams will look to chase. Teams chasing have won 19 times out of 21 here.
Mumbai have become master chasers, having won all their five matches of IPL10. It was evident in the way Mumbai played their last match on Thursday in Indore where Rohit Sharma & Co made mockery of the 199-run target set by Kings XI Punjab, winning easily (with eight wickets and 27 balls to spare).
Mumbai seem to be making the most of their best-ever start to their campaign.
They have won their last five matches after being beaten in their opening clash against RPS.
One of the Daredevils’ major concerns is batting in the middle overs (7 to 15), where they are averaging 7.33 — the worst performance by any team this IPL. In this phase, Delhi have lost 16 wickets, the most by any side. This is where the momentum is lost and could cost them dear.
DD will have to decide whether to promote hard-hitting Chris Morris, after Angelo Mathews and Shreyas Iyer failed to land the blows in the 15-run loss to Sunrisers Hyderabad. Morris was zero not out without getting to face a delivery.