Onus on Yuvraj, Mathews to lift gloom

In 2013, Angelo Mathews and Yuvraj Singh helped Pune Warriors break the longest losing streak with handy contributions against Rajasthan Royals at Gahunje. As the duo return to the ground that was once their home venue, they would be hoping for an encore and help Delhi Daredevils break their own voodoo - 11 games without a win, the joint highest.

It may be a home game for Kings XI Punjab, but all eyes will be on Daredevils when they take the field Wednesday night. Will they be able to earn their first points of the season and avoid the ignominy of creating a new unwanted record of the longest losing streak? If they are to break the jinx, handy contributions from their Sri Lankan and the Indian allrounders wouldn't hurt.

Both Mathews and Yuvraj have seen contrasting turnarounds in their careers over the last two years. Mathews, who led Warriors briefly in 2013, has grown into a useful allrounder and become captain of Sri Lanka in the longer formats. Yuvraj, on the other hand, has had a mixed bag. He has vanished from the international scene, but for the second consecutive year, emerged as the most expensive player at the IPL auction.

In the first two matches, however, Yuvraj has done little to justify his Rs 16-crore price tag, partly, in his defence, due to the fact that he has been batting lower down the order in a rejigged Daredevils batting order. Mathews couldn't feature in the first match since Sri Lankan players have been advised to stay away from all the games in Chennai due to political reasons.

Both players would be hoping to turn the tide around for their team with an impressive outing just like the one in April 2013. Incidentally, Warriors had come into the 2013 season on the back of nine successive losses in 2012. Ditto with Daredevils in 2014. Yuvraj had missed the 2012 season owing to an ailment, while Mathews joined the Daredevils ahead of this edition.

Mathews, naturally, tried to play down the impact of a disastrous 2014 season on the change room. "We've got new faces, I'm one of them. We've a new combination. You can't mourn about last year, it's done and dusted and we've got to move on," Mathews said on Tuesday. "We can't really mourn about the last two games as well, we've to bounce back really hard. The dressing room environment is nice and positive. The past is past, we'll just look to the future and try to take one game at a time and win."

Daredevils would not mind one bit if Mathews and Yuvraj can indeed rewind to the past.