Wednesday, May 23, 2012

IPL Playoffs - KKR beats Delhi Daredevils

The game swung here and there. KKR started brightly and then slowed down and it looked like they did not have enough and then they got plenty in the last couple of overs and ended up with 162. Virender Sehwag always looks like a captain with no plan and he goes as instinctively at his captaincy as he does with his batting. He makes some awful mistakes like giving Varun Aaron the last over and generally taking the foot off the accelerator in the last overs. Yusuf Pathan and Laxmi Ratan came good and before they realised what they were up to KKR had got themselves back into the game. Great case for not taking the foot off the pedal when you have an initial advantage.

When they batted they started out in a hurry and despite the bad decision against Warner, the Daredevils again messed up their batting order. Ross Taylor came too late, at least two overs too late and that could have made the difference in the end. Again Viru looked clueless as he hoped things would right themselves somehow. Delhi Daredevils now look down the barrel of the gun and they have much hard work to do.

But its time for preparation. Viru cannot leave everything to instinct. He must have a plan and then follow his instinct. Else you will be caught sending Negi and Rao ahead of Ross Taylor and bowling Varun Aaron in the last over. That pretty much sealed it for the Daredevils.

As for team composition it shows how differently everyone reads the wicket - Gambhir went with a spin heavy attack and Sehwag with a pace heavy attack. Everyone seems clueless really. But for his intensity and also for sticking to a plan for the given day, Gambhir pulled it off and comfortably. Viru made the cardinal mistake of sticking to favourites as he said in his interview - I could not drop Umesh or Aaron after they performed so well. But its about horses for courses and the combination for the day. If Viru learns quickly the Delhi team has a chance (which I consider unlikely) or they must rely on some outstanding performances by their players. Ideally it would be great if Delhi wins the eliminator and comes back to meet KKR in the final. But the Delhi team minus Peterson is a bit shaky in big matches as they proved time and again.

Today's game, I will go with CSK.

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