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Grin and bear it: DC can do little but wait for the tide to turn
Delhi Capitals have lost all four matches they have played so far this IPL season and are the only team without a point.
Four defeats. That is not how you want to start a new season but that is exactly where the Delhi Capitals find themselves. At the bottom of the table, with the worst NRR (-1.576), a batting line-up that isn’t firing and a bowling line-up that is conceding far too many runs.
So how do you approach this situation from this point on? Do you wallow in self pity or do you simply wait for the tide to turn and hope that your team finds some winning momentum too. The good part about T20 cricket is how quickly things can change.
Delhi lost their first match by 50 runs, second by 6 wickets, third by 57 runs, fourth by 6 wickets (but off the last ball). Even though they seemed to be chasing the game for most part against Mumbai Indians on Tuesday, it might be argued that their fightback shows that their mind is still in the right place. A comeback in the season won’t be easy but Axar Patel’s attitude seems to be the way to go.
Rather than get weighed down by the doom-and-gloom scenario, the DC vice-captain prefers to look at the brighter side of things.
“At this point, we have two ways to approach the issue,” said Patel. “If we think that we are in trouble and our run-rate is poor as well, then it isn’t going to do us any good. We have to keep a good attitude and focus on the match. The result obviously matters but in such a situation, it is important to focus on the right things. Think too much about defeats and run rates and even the performance that should come won’t. We have to stay positive and that is the conversation we have been having as well.
“It’s not that our Indian contingent of players isn’t good. Yash Dhull has played U-19 for India, Lalit Yadav has been around for the past few seasons as well. So, it really is about finding the one good performance and picking it up from there.”
Patel’s batting form has been one of the few bright spots for DC this season. He has scored 108 runs at a strike rate of 168.75, and given how well he has been batting, is No 7 too low in the line-up for him?
“Well, I would have thought the same but I am batting 10-12 overs in every match, so I don’t think that I can bat more than that,” said Axar with a smile. “So, it doesn’t really matter whether I am batting at 5 or at 7. It really all feels the same to me. Even if I bat at No 4, I feel I am batting enough overs in T20.”
Jokes aside, Axar also understands that if he bats too high up in the order, then DC will need to find someone else for the finisher’s slot.
The big issue for DC has been their lack of runs. Skipper David Warner has scored 209 runs at an average of 52.25 but his SR of 114.83 has meant he hasn’t quite managed to put the pressure back on the opposition. So, has he been asked to play the anchor’s role?
“Well, he hasn’t been asked to play like this,” said Axar, breaking into laughter. “In the last 2-3 matches, he has been trying to play the big shots but they have continued to elude him. The power and timing just isn’t coming. As a batter, it is hard for me to know what exactly he is thinking at that point. When Prithvi (Shaw) is playing, he needs to play the anchor role but if wickets keep falling at the other end, it is hard to bat aggressively.
“Everyone has spoken to him… Ricky (Ponting), (Shane) Watson, Dada (Sourav Ganguly) and we have spoken about the strike-rate and looked at videos too. So, that is something he is working on.”
It is quite amazing that many walked away from the presser with smiles plastered on their faces. Now, if Axar can translate the same feeling to the DC dressing room, they might approach the next match feeling that little bit lighter. After all, all teams start a new match on an equal footing.
