Toppers DD face hungry Challengers
16 May 2012 4:02 PM GMT
Assured of a place in the play-offs, Delhi Daredevils would look to sort out their middle-order woes when they take on a desperate Royal Challengers Bangalore in their Indian Premier League match, here on Thursday.
Delhi can affod to play without pressure and that is even more dangerous for Bangalore, who need to win their last two matches to qualify for the knockout stage.
Delhi's heavy reliance on their top order has been a concern and whenever the openers have not made significant contribution, they have failed to put up a challenging score or faced difficulties in chasing totals.
It happened on Tuesday night too when chasing a modest total of 137, they had to work quite hard. In these situations, Sri Lankan batsman Mahela Jayawrdene has always helped their cause and Tuesday was no different.
Among their middle-order batsmen, Ross Taylor has been out of form and Delhi can ill-afford his continuous poor run with the bat.
With the last two league matches left before the knockout stage, Delhi would be keen to see that all their middle-order batsmen get enough overs under their belt.
Naman Ojha must have got some confidence by contributing in Tuesday's win with his cameo. The talent of Taylor, Y Venugopal Rao and Ojha is beyond doubt but now the league has reached stage where one off-day could spell ouster.
Delhi can affod to play without pressure and that is even more dangerous for Bangalore, who need to win their last two matches to qualify for the knockout stage.
Delhi's heavy reliance on their top order has been a concern and whenever the openers have not made significant contribution, they have failed to put up a challenging score or faced difficulties in chasing totals.
It happened on Tuesday night too when chasing a modest total of 137, they had to work quite hard. In these situations, Sri Lankan batsman Mahela Jayawrdene has always helped their cause and Tuesday was no different.
Among their middle-order batsmen, Ross Taylor has been out of form and Delhi can ill-afford his continuous poor run with the bat.
With the last two league matches left before the knockout stage, Delhi would be keen to see that all their middle-order batsmen get enough overs under their belt.
Naman Ojha must have got some confidence by contributing in Tuesday's win with his cameo. The talent of Taylor, Y Venugopal Rao and Ojha is beyond doubt but now the league has reached stage where one off-day could spell ouster.
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