For the second time in this IPL season, the Delhi Daredevils lost to the Rajasthan Royals. With so much of inconsistency, they are making it tough for themselves by losing these important games.
On the occasion of IPL’s 500th match, it was a perfect opportunity for the Daredevils to come out with flying colours. But they frittered away the opportunity even after winning the toss.
In front of Ajinkya Rahane, the in-form opener of the Rajasthan Royals, the Delhi bowlers were toothless. Even Karun Nair was brilliant with the bat. Barring experienced Zaheer Khan and Angelo Mathews, all the Delhi bowlers went for runs. It was a complete Rahane show.
The Mumbai-based cricketer knew the Brabourne stadium wicket like the back of his hand and made an unbeaten 54-ball 91. His knock eventually helped the Royals to overcome the Daredevils.
During their chase, the Daredevils were in dire straits after losing their openers early. Yuvraj Singh did try to resurrect the Delhi innings for a while, but failed to stay for a long time.
It was their captain JP Duminy, who looked like a complete batsman. Before the match ended, Saurabh Tiwary did play a cameo for his team, but it was too late to cross over the winning line.
With this loss, Delhi, like the Mumbai Indians, will have to win at least four out of five remaining games to fulfil their dreams of playing the IPL play-offs. For last two seasons, the Daredevils haven’t done much in the IPL and so hopes were high this year to make an impact.
The team also spent a lot of money to buy quality players from the auction. But this Delhi team is unable to achieve the kind of consistency, which they had in the 2009 edition in South Africa.
In fact, the Daredevils were the table toppers that year. Similarly, the Rajasthan Royals were IPL champions in the inaugural season.
But now, all that is important is this season and as far as the Royals are concerned, they are on the verge of becoming one of the top teams in the competition. Hope, the Daredevils too can match them!
