ANALYSIS
Follow UsThe first three games of the ongoing second installment of IPL 2021 had an air of change around them. Chennai Super Kings pulled one game back in their mediocre record against Mumbai Indians. Kolkata Knight Riders, lifted themselves from the seventh spot in the points table to the fifth, crushing Royal Challengers Bangalore in Match 31. Meanwhile, Match 32, between two perennial underperformers and unbalanced sides in Punjab Kings and Rajasthan Royals was always anyone’s game. Yet, it had an unprecedented instance of a 20-year old defending 4 runs in the last over.
Keeping all these results in mind, one expected the Sunrisers Hyderabad to pull their socks up. At the same time, Delhi Capitals were tasked to create the same flow that sailed them to the top of the table at the season suspension. However, the proceedings of their clash suggested nothing has changed, at least between them.
In fact, Delhi appeared to be playing cricket on an X Box in easy mode while chilling on their couch. Hyderabad could not recover from David Warner’s departure, letting Delhi boss their terms from the first over itself.
Same old concerns with the bat
Hyderabad is only a three men batting setup. One of them, their best this season, Jonny Bairstow pulled out of the tournament. The other, Warner, is out of form. Kane Williamson scored only 18 off 26 balls.
Unlike other teams, for example Rajasthan in Match 32 against Punjab where a number of batsmen chipped in with crucial 30s and 40s to elevate them to 185, Hyderabad have always been dependent on the aforementioned trio to carry them to a fighting total.
They have had seven 50-plus scores this season out of which five have come from the willow of Bairstow, Warner and Williamson. While there are sides with lesser number of batsmen kicking on to score fifties, Hyderabad have lacked impact too.
Here, Williamson and Warner scored only 18 runs between them from 29 balls. The sun did not rise on Hyderabad’s absent middle-order and the story remained the same for the side already at the last spot. 134 was never going to be enough for Delhi which has not three but six in-form batsmen.
Contrasting pace attacks
Delhi and Hyderabad pose arguably the biggest contrast in terms of pace bowling arsenal. In Anrich Nortje, Kagiso Rabada and Avesh Khan, Delhi have three hit-the-deck seamers, all of whom can move the ball at high speeds. Nortje, playing his first game of the season, bowled the fastest delivery of the tournament, clocking 151.7 clicks. He, in fact, occupied all the top 8 positions on the list of Fastest Balls of the season. And yes, he has played only one game this season.
On the contrary, Hyderabad’s trio - Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Khaleel Ahmed and Sandeep Sharma - bank on grip from the pitch once the ball is old. Jason Holder do bowl the good length area but is largely short of pace. The ball did stick in the pitch but it was nowhere near their home track in Hyderabad. In addition, the total was at least 30 runs short of the par score.
The pitch was more conducive to Delhi’s style of pace bowling. Nortje and Rabada wrecked havoc, picking five for 49 in the eight overs between them and the former fetching the Player of the Match award. Meanwhile, Hyderabad’s one dimensional attack could only crave of putting muscle on the ball.
Pant-Iyer stand icing on the cake
In what was a perfect warm-up for Delhi to resume their campaign in the second leg, the 67-run stand between Shreyas Iyer and Rishabh Pant was the icing on the cake.
For Iyer, it was about getting crucial game time in the middle after nursing his injured shoulder for six months. He was not at his best but struck a couple of meaty blows. On any other day, his 47 not out off 41 balls would hurt the team but the below par target allowed him to align his personal interest with that of the team.
The skipper, Pant also grabbed the opportunity to get into the rhythm. In his first four seasons, Pant batted at a strike-rate of 162.7. In 2019, it slumped to 114. This year, it was meandering around the 130-mark. His unbeaten 58 off 48 balls against Bangalore in the first half hinted he is befuddled about how to carry his innings. It can happen to someone batting in the middle-order who is also in reckoning for the national team.
Like Iyer, the moderate target granted Pant the time to lay the perfect platform for himself. Barring a wild slog on his first ball, Pant focussed on getting his eye before launching a brief cameo. He raced from 19 off 15 balls to finish 35 not out off 21 deliveries.
The best part was the purity of his attacking strokes. Even though it was only a 109kph short ball from Khaleel Ahmed but Delhi will hope the cracking pull over mid-wicket for six will ensue Pant to trust the method behind his madness.
