Daredevils' slump raises plenty of questions

There will be questions asked - the big money they spent on little-known players will be marked in bold - and Delhi Daredevils will have to find some answers quickly. Ninety-eight all out in a Twenty20 match is just not enough.

The slide started early. Quinton de Kock hit two handsome boundaries off Umesh Yadav to get underway, but, in trying to repeat a pull shot against the quicker Andre Russell, he found himself rushed. De Kock realised his mistake even as the top-edge shot up in the air, and was already walking back to the pavilion by the time Yusuf Pathan took the catch at mid-off.

Shreyas Iyer played across the line and was pinned lbw by Russell for a third-ball duck. This young man was Daredevils' finest batsman last season and had racked up over 1000 runs for Mumbai in their title-winning Ranji Trophy campaign this season. And yet, in this match, he did not even take the time to get set. Mayank Agarwal chased a full and wide delivery, the outside edge was safely taken at the third-man boundary and Daredevils slumped to 31 for 3 in the fifth over.

The strain of a feeble run-rate, that too in the Powerplay with only two fielders allowed in the deep, became too much. Karun Nair felt the brunt of it after he was beaten by John Hastings' outswing twice. The next ball - a half-volley - was steered straight to point.

Pawan Negi, who was bought by Daredevils for INR 8.5 crore, the highest price paid for an uncapped player in the IPL, walked out to bat in the sixth over with the score on 35 for 4. Negi was part of the Indian team in two tournaments this year - the Asia Cup and the World T20 - but he made the XI in only one match, against UAE. He did not bat in that game. In fact, he has not batted in a competitive match since the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy in January. He looked rusty at the crease. By the time he was stumped, haring down the track against Brad Hogg, he had only 11 off 19 balls.

It was a struggle for Sanju Samson as well. He was lucky to survive a run-out chance in the seventh over, when he was on 5. The throw from Manish Pandey at point hit him instead of the stumps. Overall, it was a bad day for Daredevils to be a batsman short. JP Duminy, who had captained them in 2015, had been rested so that his hamstring could heal better.

Kolkata Knight Riders were quite happy to exploit these deficiencies. Even when Russell left the field after taking 3 for 24, Hastings stepped up with a robust spell and rounded off the Powerplay with a wicket maiden. Gautam Gambhir ensured his bowlers had the best chances to take wickets. At times, the Knight Riders captain had two slips and a silly point in place and even positioned himself at short leg for the spinners.

Carlos Brathwaite certainly had a lot of fielders around the bat at the start of his innings. He had not been comfortable against the turning ball in the nets on the eve of the match, and he did very little to change that impression. Four balls into his innings, a Piyush Chawla googly trapped him plumb in front. The other allrounder, Chris Morris, fell to Chawla as well, playing against the turn only to have his stumps knocked back.

Brathwaite, in the World T20 final, and Morris, during the ODIs against England, have played starring roles for West Indies and South Africa. Given their ability as big-hitting finishers, it is understandable that Daredevils wanted to fit both of them in the XI, but their vulnerability on pitches conducive to spin should not be ignored.

That, though, is only one of the problems that Dravid, head coach Paddy Upton and captain Zaheer Khan have to find a solution for. Otherwise, the questions will just keep coming.