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Delhi Capitals straining to light up IPL
IPL 2021: Table toppers in the first leg in India, the Rishabh Pant-led 2020 finalists are formidable in every aspect and keen to go all the way this time.
With the UAE leg of the Indian Premier league off to a sluggish start, all focus is on Delhi Capitals to take the stage and provide some spark.
Starting the second-half of their campaign against Sunrisers Hyderabad in Dubai on Wednesday, DC offer the electric pace of Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje, the power-play of young dynamos Prithvi Shaw, Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer, and the clever spin of R Ashwin and Amit Mishra, making them an exciting package.
With defending champions Mumbai Indians inconsistent, the Pant-led team has emerged as the side to beat in IPL along with the resurgent Chennai Super Kings. Having finished the Indian leg at the top of the table with six wins in eight games, DC enter the UAE phase with the confidence of having mastered the conditions at the three venues last season and marched into the final.
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The highlight of their impressive show in the first-half played in India was the opening partnership between Shaw and Shikhar Dhawan. The seasoned southpaw will look to prove a point after losing his spot in the Indian T20 team. He is the tournament’s top-scorer with 380 runs. His record in the UAE is also impressive, having become the first batsman to score successive centuries in IPL last year.
They are stronger with the return of Iyer after shoulder surgery. Though Pant will continue to lead, Iyer will bolster the already packed middle-order. To add to it, they have great finishers. “Rishabh, Stoinis or with Shimron Hetmyer, we have a lot of finishing power there. If our top-order can continue the job they did in the first part of the tournament, and obviously with Shreyas Iyer back makes our batting line-up really strong, really deep,” coach Ricky Ponting said on Tuesday.
DC fast bowlers will be the most keen to play at Abu Dhabi and Dubai. Nortje and Rabada were lethal last time there. If the wickets are like 2020 they will enjoy the carry and bounce. Rabada was the highest wicket-taker while the 27-year-old Nortje created history by bowling the fastest delivery (156.22 kph) in IPL history.
Ponting and Pant couldn’t fit in Nortje in the first half due to the balance of the side, but Iyer’s return restores the balance of the batting line-up as he can fit in as a finisher or play a steady hand.
“I am absolutely delighted to have Shreyas back. It makes our line-up a little bit more complete. As well as we played in the first half, it just didn’t quite feel it was right. With Iyer back it does give us the opportunity to play these two fast bowlers with whom we had success in the past. We know Nortje and Rabada are world class performers and have done well when they have played together for Delhi Capitals,” Ponting said. “It does give us that option, but at the end of the day we will pick the best playing XI, we have Avesh Khan, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav and Amit Mishra as well. We can pick any one of those guys who could slot into our XI and will be a world class team.”
Capitals are yet to win IPL. Last season, they were beaten by MI in the final. They have set out with the aim of completing unfinished business. Iyer was captain last year, and the onus is now on Pant to lead the team.
“We had a really good last year. We’ve been focusing on the process and getting the results, we don’t have to do many things differently but if we do the same thing and give 15 per cent extra in that, I think we are going to cross the line,” said Pant. It’s been impressive how easily the keeper-batsman has fitted into the role of a leader, managing some of the biggest names in international cricket. It’s a tough job when you have to tell someone like Steve Smith or Ajinkya Rahane to sit out.
Asked about his leadership style, Pant said, “I try to keep the environment light. You have to treat everyone equally. If you respect each and every player in the team, and the support staff around you, special things happen. Respect them (and) they are going to give whatever they have for you. Whatever you want your team to do, they will stand by you. As a skipper that’s the only thing you want.”
Ponting said, “Pant’s level of maturity in the last couple of seasons has gone through the roof; when I first came here, Rishabh was starting to just burst onto the scene. Last year we made it to the finals, this year we want to go one step further, and Rishabh is going to be a big part of it.”
It can be a tricky game for Capitals. SRH are at the bottom of the pile but can never be written off. “SRH are always up for the scrap, that’s how they like to play,” said the former Australia skipper. “They like to keep the game really tight, really close. Not usually a high-scoring team, but they back the defensive side of their game. (They are) always a hard bowling team, hard to get on top of and we saw that at Chennai (when the game went to super over).”
