IPL 2013 preview: Delhi Daredevils vs Pune Warriors

Delhi Daredevils take on Pune Warriors in Raipur today.

Numbers 6-2,7-1 sound good in a game of tennis,but when it comes to cricket,seven defeats to one win and six defeats to two are not a pleasant sight.

Both Delhi Daredevils and Pune Warriors have had a poor IPL 2013 campaign,and will look to commence a winning journey when they collide at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium in Raipur today.

Change of skippers has not worked for the Pune unit. Can change of home venue inject some sort of life into a very disappointing Delhi Daredevils’ run?

Change of luck

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Delhi will now play their two home games in the city of Raipur. Will the change of venue put their IPL 2013 campaign on track?

Things have gone from bad to worse,and the team management desperately want plans to be executed on the field. Half-way through the through the tournament,the first side to make it to the play-offs in the 2012 edition,is languishing at the bottom with only one win to their name. Many thought Virender Sehwag’s return to form will be the much-needed impetus. That,however,didn’t happen,as the team’s hunt for win continues.

The spectacles!

Sehwag sported glasses during the Australia Test series. Many believed that adjusting to the glasses will take some time,and will affect Sehwag’s game,which is heavily dependent on hand-eye coordination. Not only did he fail with the bat,but spilled sitters while fielding at slips.

The belligerent right-hander went back to old ways and demolished Mumbai Indians without the glasses. After failing in the following fixtures,the Delhi dasher was spotted wearing glasses during the net session. Glasses or no glasses,Delhi want the dasher to fire today.

Pune’s hunt for warriors

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Pune’s position and movement in the points table is doing justice to the performances they have displayed in their eight fixtures. They have been very inconsistent and have released games comfortably in their hold. Lack of good domestic crop is hurting the team bad,and heavy dependance is observed on the likes of Aaron Finch,Luke Wright and Steven Smith.

But,a team can be successful if the domestic talent steps up and make handy contributions. Robin Uthappa has been very erratic,Ashoke Dinda is all over the place and Yuvraj Singh has been off colour. They are still a tad better than the Delhi unit,and should draw positives from their close finishes. Chris Gayle’s assault was one in a millennium moment,and the team should not read much into that game.

The Pathan power

It has been a very ordinary tournament for the Pathans so far. Both Yusuf and Irfan have not lived up to the expectations. Irfan,after missing the major chunk of domestic matches due to injury,is looking very rusty. The big shots have disappeared and the ball is not coming nicely out of his hand.

The left-hander,if in full flow,can be more than handy with a beautiful delivery coming into the right-hander. Not only up front,subtle variations towards the death makes him difficult to score runs against. It has not happened so far,and the struggling unit would want the aggressive south paw to come good with both bat and ball.

Road to Raipur

Delhi Daredevils LWLLL

Pune Warriors LLLWL

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