IPL 2019: Delhi Capitals' struggles on turning tracks continue
Sitting pretty in the top half of the points table, Delhi Capitals have already qualified for the playoffs. This is the first time in 10 years that they have managed to do so, suggesting that their faith in the youngsters has paid off.
But today's performance against the Chennai Super Kings, in Match 50 of IPL 2019, was further proof that they struggle when the pitch is slow and starts to spin.
With the ball coming on to the bat there is no team like Delhi, as they have the batting to decimate any attack on fast-paced tracks. But everything goes haywire the moment the ball stops in the air.
This is a worrying pattern for DC. Most of their wins have come on good batting surfaces, and whenever there is a hint of assistance for the spinners, they have struggled to adapt and gone on to lose the game.
With the first qualifier in Chennai, Delhi might have to play CSK again, this time in a crucial encounter. They will need to come up with a quick solution to handle the slow and low tracks.
Delhi kick-started their campaign in marvelous fashion, posting 213 against the Mumbai Indians on a flat Wankhede track. But their batsmen have been inconsistent after that.
The likes of Prithvi Shaw, Shikhar Dhawan, Shreyas Iyer and Rishabh Pant are undoubtedly very talented, and they have displayed their skill throughout the season too. But each and every one of them has failed to perform on challenging pitches.
The problem Delhi had was that the pitches on their home ground itself were slow and spin-friendly, which explains their poor show in home games against the likes of SRH, CSK and MI. Their batsmen have failed to adapt to the conditions and that is partly due to their aggressive mindset.
The DC players need to realize that on a turning pitch they just need to bat it out and reach a score of 150 instead of going all guns blazing in pursuit of a 200-plus score.
Today we saw the likes of Imran Tahir and Ravindra Jadeja rip through the Delhi batting order with intelligent spin bowling. The approach from Delhi was all wrong, as they tried to put pressure on the spinners instead of trying to work the singles and play them out and target the faster bowlers - the way MS Dhoni did for CSK.
On slower tracks, Delhi have come up with scores of 129-8, 128-9, and 99 all out, which are below par even if the pitch was turning. If they had batted with more responsibility and adjusted to the conditions they would have got an extra 20- or 30-odd runs, which would have made the difference between winning and losing.
Despite these losses, Delhi were the second team to qualify for the playoffs. They have played some high-quality cricket throughout the season; the likes of Kagiso Rabada, Dhawan, Iyer, Pant, Chris Morris and Shaw have all produced sensational individual performances. And the team as a whole has gelled together beautifully, the players bailing each other out when needed.
They definitely have the squad to win the title for the first time this year. And if they combine their flair with some sensible cricket, then captain Iyer might well have his hands on the coveted trophy on the 12th of May in Hyderabad.