IPL 10: Daredevils need to switch on, quickly

New Delhi: Just past the midway point of IPL-10, it is becoming increasingly clear that three teams have all but sewn up their playoff berths. The remaining five are now left with the job of scrapping for the final slot, and for Delhi Daredevils, any turnaround in a slumping season has to start now.

The Daredevils’ only two wins of the season now seem a long time ago. On Tuesday at the Kotla, they will need to take that difficult first step on the long and hard road upwards in the league standings, but it will be no easy task against defending champions Sunrisers Hyderabad.

Delhi not only have to buck a losing streak, but also recover from the embarrassment of being shot out for their lowest ever score — and a 10-wicket hammering — against fellow-strugglers Kings XI Punjab at Mohali on Sunday.

The batting has been their weakest hand — ironic if you consider that they have one of the strongest bowling units around — and with all the chopping and changing that marks their team makeup match after match, it is difficult to see how the management will suddenly come up with a settled top order.

Currently on four points from eight games and up against a unit getting better by the match (Hyderabad have 13 points from 10 games), Injured Delhi captain Zaheer Khan and coach Rahul Dravid are aware the team have not delivered on the pre-season promise of young talent coming to the fore.

For Hyderabad, skipper David Warner has been hugely impressive in his 459 runs that include a blistering century against table-toppers Kolkata Knight Riders at home on Sunday. He has had good support from India discard Shikhar Dhawan and classy New Zealander Kane Williamson. The three set up Sunday’s result along with Bhuvneshwar Kumar, the standout bowler this IPL season.

Providing solid support to Kumar are Afghan sensation Rashid Khan and Aussie Moises Henriques, while young Siddharth Kaul has emerged as one to watch.

Getting the better of this side, even on home turf, may prove to be beyond a struggling Delhi’s capabilities, more so when their few overseas performers, fast bowlers Chris Morris and Kagiso Rabada, and England opener Sam Billings, are set to fly home for national duty.

The Daredevils appear to have banked too hard on all-rounders, and as a formula that has just not worked. What new combo Dravid has up his sleeve — particularly with Zaheer on the sidelines — remains to be seen.