Indecision holds Delhi back

In the end, even Imran Tahir did not have the heart to go on the victory ride of his. Gautam Gambhir had moved back to cut Tahir, but only managed to play on to his off stump. Usually such a prized catch would trigger the exuberant Tahir dash into the deep with his chest puffed out and his hands aloft signalling his pride in taking the wicket. On this occasion Tahir was sufficed by doing a couple of high-fives with his teammates.

That deflated mood was not surprising. If you took out the first 10 overs of the match, Daredevils were always facing the heat on an already warm and dry Monday evening. What was worse was the pressure was self-inflicted.

Ask JP Duminy. Ask Shreyas Iyer. Ask Manoj Tiwary. And Yuvraj Singh. Each of these men went for a stroke that they could have avoided or executed better. Duminy tried to sweep Sunil Narine too close to his body against a ball that pitched on leg stump. It was only the third ball he was facing from Narine.

Iyer, who has been a revelation at the top of the order, once again seemed to have settled in quickly despite the loss of his opening partner Mayank Agarwal in the second over and then Duminy three overs later. A nicely placed cut against a short one from Morne Morkel on the off stump fetched Iyer his first four. Iyer grew in confidence when he made use of the length and width offered by Andre Russell including a powerful six over cow corner. But attempting an ambitious slog sweep against Piyush Chawla, Iyer was beaten by a straighter delivery that knocked back the off stump. It was the fourth ball Iyer was facing from Chawla, who was playing his 100th IPL match.

In walked Yuvraj to a deafening roar. One from the pack of five pehelwans (wrestlers) sitting in the West stand square of the wicket said: "Isi ko dekhne ke liye aayi hain puri Dilli (The whole of Delhi has come to watch Yuvraj)." The Feroz Shah Kotla was indeed virtually full on Monday and they had high expectations from Yuvraj. In the four matches before today Yuvraj had got just one fifty, in the victory against Kings XI Punjab, which broke Daredevils' devilish streak of 11 straight losses.

Yuvraj had the time to dictate especially considering Daredevils were in a decent position at 69 for 3 after 10 overs. Knowing his vulnerability against short-pitched bowling, teams have tried to attack Yuvraj immediately. But today Yuvraj seemed more confident when he pulled a fast, short delivery from Morkel for six over deep square leg while at the other end Manoj Tiwary had hit Morkel for a couple of boundaries.

Still the run rate was not threatening. Tiwary then threw away a good start when he rushed into a pull shot against Morkel and was caught easily. Then in the next over Yuvraj lost his focus and his footing and was stumped off Chawla. Yuvraj had already hit a four off the fifth ball of the over. On the next ball, as Gambhir took his time to shift his fielders, Yuvraj took a stance facing midwicket.

As Chawla started his run-up, Yuvraj improvised his stance to the normal position but in the process moved out of the crease. Robin Uthappa, on a second attempt, knocked off the bails leaving Yuvraj nodding his head in disbelief on his walk back to the dugout. Two quick wickets in the space of nine deliveries followed later by two tight overs from Umesh Yadav further helped Knight Riders assume total control.

In the last 10 overs, Daredevils managed to score 77 runs which is the third-lowest this IPL. Through five games they have taken the most singles (136) in the last ten overs by any team this season. So despite rotating the strike, Daredevils failed to raise an imposing target. They had mini partnerships that never blossomed completely. They had batsmen who got starts but could not build something big. And they lacked that one batsman who could play the dual role of the anchor as well as the aggressor to sustain momentum.

Daredevils entered the match on the back of successive victories. They spoke about building the winning momentum. But for that to happen Daredevils need to have a settled plan and men who can think on their feet, people who can seize the initiative quickly.

On the opposite side, the Knight Riders looked dominant from the word go. They played with the same gusto that saw them overhaul a challenging target set by Mumbai Indians in the tournament opener. The big difference that evening was Knight Riders looked a settled team with definite plans and specific roles assigned to players. Also the key players had been playing consistently for long periods of time.

Monday was no different. Gambhir built decisive partnerships initially with Uthappa, then Suryakumar Yadav and finally with Yusuf Pathan. Throughout Gambhir made sure he not just rotated the strike, but also kept the run rate consistently high. The big difference today was the Knight Riders waited to hurt the bad ball which duly arrived every over. In contrast, the Daredevils kept waiting till it was too late.