Delhi Daredevils look for momentum against Royal Challengers Bangalore

Gary Kirsten

Bangalore, May 12 (IANS): Being at bottom of the table with seven losses and only two away wins, a beleaguered Delhi Daredevils is looking for some momentum to take on hosts Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), which is reeling with defeats on a trot, in the IPL tie on Tuesday at the Chinnaswamy stadium here.

“We will try to give our best and try to win the game. We need some momentum to go forward in the tournament, as we got a nice team, which is trying to win every game,” Delhi coach Gary Kirsten told reporters here Monday ahead of the league tie.

Admitting that expectations were not too high, he said the team would be happy to win at the same time, as it was important at this stage.

“We are a new team and building together as a unit. We need a bit of confidence and big contributions by one two key players to turn around from where we are,” the former South African coach for Indian national team said.

On seven defeats, including three in the UAE during the first leg of the tournament and four at home (Delhi) in the second leg so far, Kirsten said batting and bowling had not been up to the mark, resulting in inconsistent performance in most games.

“We have done some good things on the field but we haven’t been able to continue them. If you want to put pressure on the opposition, you need to dominate the game to cross the line. I am encouraged by our progress though it would have been nice if we had won some games,” he said.

Asked if the poor form of Delhi captain Kevin Pietersen was a cause of concern, Kirsten said Pietersen was important for the team, as all players looked up to him.

“Like any captain, Kevin can add about 20 percent to the game when he is playing well. He got going in the last game (against Hyderabad May 10 in Dehi), deciding to open to free him up a little bit. Our team had managed to score over 160 at times even without him firing,” he said.

Lauding Jean Paul Duminy for being a great finisher of the game, Kirsten said the team was in a Catch-22 situation in deciding whether to promote him in the batting order, as he had been doing better than the top order consistently.

“JP has finished us brilliantly for us in the last three-four games. As he is our best batsman, it is a difficult choice to make whether you want him to face more deliveries or use him to finish. For instance, (Chennai Super Kings captain) M.S. Dhoni never used to come early because he is such a good finisher and RCB keeps its A.B. de Villiers back to finish. We have the same problem, as we need Duminy for the last five-six overs where he has been devastating,” he said.