Delhi Daredevils finally have a win under their belt

Two seasons, 7 matches, 11 months and 20 days. Its been a long time coming and after a lot of disappointments, Delhi Daredevils finally have a win under their belt. It is only fitting that Delhi came out of its winless streak in the IPL against Kolkata Knight Riders, whom they beat for their last win almost a year ago. Incidentally that win, like this one also came at a neutral venue (Raipur). After the loss against Royal Challengers Bangalore the other night, DD were quick on their feet and made sweeping changes to the playing XI for the match against KKR. This kind of proactive approach to a slow start is not only refreshing but also induces discipline because it sends the squad a message to perform or perish. The team had stability and a sense of collectiveness. DD played to their strengths and won the game by the intent they showed and resilience in their actions in the field. Very few people people expected DD to bowl like stallions in the PowerPlay, bat with assurance and a clear thought process and dominate the proceedings for a change. [caption id=“attachment_1488503” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Dinesh Karthik of the Delhi Daredevils raises his bat after scoring a half century. BCCI[/caption] This performance from DD last night brought back memories of a certain day of the Ryder Cup in 2012 when Europe made a miraculous comeback and stunned everyone by holding onto the cup by winning 8.5 points out of a possible 12 on the final day of singles matches. While this win is much much smaller than what Europe achieved, it could be the start of something special. DD had the right mix of players on the field. Nathan Coulter-Nile’s spell was one of the best in terms of discipline that we have seen in a while. Also, DD have a knack for chasing targets, maybe because it gives them the opportunity to test the depth in their batting department which has always been a decent feature of their squad. The savior for the night was Dinesh Karthik. I say Dinesh Karthik and not JP Duminy because he came and placated KKR’s spin attack, which is very potent and shrewd, the stroke-play from Karthik was fluid and his strike-rate was exceptional. His partnership with Duminy was the difference between KKR and DD. You can ignore the guy all you want but more times than not he comes through for the team, and maybe we just need to be more rational while critisising a player like Karthik given the numerous times he has been included in the squad but not given an opportunity in the playing XI because he is a keeper in the MS Dhoni era. What DD needs to do now is build a core set of players who can form the pillars of their squad. And the unlikliest of duos - Duminy and DK might just be filling in that starting that process. Dk has a very respectable IPL career and statistically Duminy is only second to Virat Kohli in the T20 format. If these two can carry on like this, then Delhi do have a solid platform to launch their campaign. So, with a positive outlook and a prayer in the heart lets just hope we don’t have to wait this long for a win from ‘Apne munde’ in the near future.