Match 55: Delhi Daredevils v Deccan Chargers

Venue – Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium, Delhi

Head to Head: Delhi Daredevils – 4; Deccan Chargers – 2

Delhi Daredevils

Depending upon the results of the first match between Chennai and Punjab, this match will assume significance. If Chennai win, this match will become a virtual quarter-final with the winner moving to second spot while the loser will have to hope Kolkata doesn’t win by a huge margin against Mumbai tomorrow. If Chennai lose, then both Delhi and Deccan have a better opportunity to qualify. Delhi will have the home advantage and their biggest strength will be the presence of two quality spinners in Amit Mishra and Daniel Vettori as compared to one for Deccan in Pragyan Ojha. The Delhi wicket is a tired pitch with low bounce and two paced that will make the job difficult for the batsmen to counter spin. Delhi can also use the services of Virender Sehwag and Tillakaratne Dilshan as they did against Chennai to put the brakes on the scoring.

Best bet for Delhi Daredevils: Virender Sehwag – 9/10

Tillakaratne Dilshan – 8/10

Gautam Gambhir – 8/10

Amit Mishra – 8/10

Daniel Vettori – 8/10                                     

Deccan Chargers

Deccan would like to win to make the sailing easier, however their hot and cold performances will concern captain Gilchrist. Rohit Sharma has been the only consistent performer for Deccan while Gilchirst will be disappointed with his other overseas players Gibbs and Symonds who has played little role in victories. Especially Gibbs form is a big concern which may see him sit out once again while Mitchell Marsh is likely to be continued with.

Best Bet for Deccan Chargers: Adam Gilchrist – 9/10

Rohit Sharma – 9/10

Pragyan Ojha – 8/10

Ryan Harris– 8/10

Andrew Symonds – 8/10

Match 12: Delhi Daredevils v Chennai Super Kings

League 2010, Day 8

Match 12: Delhi Daredevils v Chennai Super Kings

Venue – Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium, Delhi

Head to Head: Delhi Daredevils – 2; Chennai Super Kings – 2

Delhi Daredevils

Delhi will be without their captain Gautam Gambhir who is out due to a hamstring injury he suffered in the opening over of their previous match against Mumbai Indians. In his absence Dinesh Karthik, the wicket-keeper batsman will lead the side. Karthik has enough captaincy experience in domestic circuit, but it will be a challenge for him to lead the side with many international players in a global tournament like IPL. Bowling has been very good until Tendulkar and company derailed them. Therefore it will be interesting to see if they can bounce back with authority in the absence of their regular captain.

Delhi will also bring in David Warner who is likely to partner Sehwag at the top; will be replacing Maharoof who proved too expensive in his two outings with the ball. Avishkar Salvi or Yo Mahesh will be the other bowler in the line-up.

Best Bet for Delhi Daredevils: Virender Sehwag – 9/10

Tillakaratne Dilshan – 8/10

Dirk Nannes – 8/10

Dinesh Karthik – 7/10

David Warner – 7/10

Chennai Super Kings

Super Kings are sailing in the same boat as their opponents Daredevils. Their captain MS Dhoni will also be out of action for a few weeks due to injury suffered in their previous match and will be led by Suresh Raina. Though Raina is not new to captaincy, he is relatively less experience than his counterpart Dinesh Karthik and he looked out of sorts with bat in the two matches played. Things look worse for the Super Kings as their main stay with bat Matthew Hayden is also out of form. Chennai will require these two to deliver goods right away to keep their campaign floating.

Chennai’s bowling was a revelation in the last match and in absence of big fish Dhoni, Chennai will hope their bowlers perform the same way they did against Kolkata. In Dhnoi’s absence Parthiv Patel will keep wickets and is also likely to replace Vijay at the top.

Best Bet for Chennai Super Kings: Albie Morkel – 9/10

Matthew Hayden – 9/10

Subramaniam Badrinath – 8/10

L Balaji  – 8/10

R Ashwin – 7/10

Indian Premier League 2010 Teams Preview – Delhi Daredevils

Team: Delhi Daredevils

Owner: GMR Holdings

Bought for: USD 84 million

Captain: Gautam Gambhir

Coach: Greg Shipperd

Home Ground: Ferozshah Kotla Stadium, Delhi

IPL 2009 Result: Three

IPL Record: Played – 29, Won –17, Lost – 12, Tie – 0, No Result -0

Best Batsman IPL 2009: AB DeVillers – Runs: 465; S/R: 130.98

Best Bowler IPL 2009: Ashish Nehra – Wkts: 19; RPO: 6.78

Build Up:

One of the most promising teams, Delhi will only hope they have that extra mileage to go beyond semi-finals. Two time semi-finalist Delhi has a formidable batting line-up in captain Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag, AB DeVillers, Tillakaratne Dilshan and Dinesh Karthik as well as threatening pace attack in Dirk Nannes and Ashish Nehra. However Delhi’s problem has been the lower middle-order batsmen and that of an all-rounder.

Delhi will be boosted by the recruitment of South African Wayne Parnell and Australian Moises Henriquies, both who are handy with bat and ball. Henriquies earlier played for Kolkata Knight Riders but was swapped for Manoj Tiwary during the transfer window period. This should add more stability to the lower middle-order and give Daredevils the extra mileage.

Watch Out For:

Tillakaratne Dilshan – Dilshan caught everyone’s imagination with fearless batting as an opener for his national team a year back. Since then his transformation as a cricketer has been nothing less than a sea change. Dilshan along with DeVillers did bulk of the scoring for Delhi last year and both will look to continue their prime form. Watch out for Dilscoop!

Dark Horse:

Ashish Nehra – Not visibly threatening with his gentle pace and decent swing, this left-arm pacer has the capability of picking wickets regularly. If he can control his line of bowling then he will be a difficult bowler to do away with.

The Squad:

Gautam Gambhir (Captain), Virender Sehwag, AB de Villiers, Wayne Parnell, Moises Henriquies, David Warner, Andrew McDonald, Dirk Nannes, Farveez Maharoof, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Dinesh Karthik, Rajat Bhatia, Mithun Manhas, Avishkar Salvi, Ashish Nehra, Pradeep Sangwan, Umesh Yadav, Amit Mishra, Kedar Jadhav, Shashi Ranjan, Joginder Singh, Sarandeep Singh, Sarabjeet Ladda

Delhi to play for pride

Match 20: League B

Delhi Daredevils v Cape Cobras, Delhi

The last of the league stage match between home team Delhi Daredevils and Cape Cobras has no significance as the Daredevils are already out of this competition. The Cobras are yet to lose a game in this tournament and will look to keep up their winning momentum going into the semi-final. The match will also provide them with a good idea about the Kolta pitch where they are likely to play their semi-final as they are expected to top the group.

For Delhi it’s about pride and the team is expected to play their full strength side. The common factor behind all the Indian Premier League (IPL) teams poor form in the tournament is lack of preparation and lack of time for team bonding. It was visible in their performance as there were many run-outs, sub-standard ground fielding and a dozen of dropped catches.

Best bet for Delhi Daredevils:

Virender Sehwag – 9/10

Glenn McGrath – 8/10

Dirk Nannes – 9/10

Tillakaratne Dilshan – 8/10

Best bet for Cape Cobras:

Herschelle Gibbs – 9/10

Henry Davids – 8/10

Andrew Puttick – 8/10

JP Duminy – 8/10

Bowlers give Delhi edge over Victoria

Delhi Daredevils v Victoria Bushrangers, Delhi

Delhi Daredevils start one of the firm favorites in the tournament despite the qualification as table toppers in the league stage of the Indian Premier League (IPL). Led by new captain Gautam Gambhir, Delhi is rich in its batting despite missing AB DeVillers because of an injury. Virender Sehwag will open the batting with Gambhir while Tillakaratne Dilshan is set to come one down. The match will also feature Glenn McGrath in action after a gap of two years who will don the Daredevils hat.

The match will also highlight the battle between teams coached by one man Greg Shippered. Shippered is the head coach for Delhi Daredevils but have handed over the reins to his assistant David Saker in order to assist his home team Victoria in the tournament. Another interesting thing to watch out is for Dirk Nannes, who plays for his IPL team Delhi against his home team Victoria. Victoria too has some prolific T20 batsmen in the ranks. David Hussey and Brad Hodge take charge of the middle order followed by big hitting captain Cameron White.

Best bet for Delhi Daredevils:                     Virender Sehwag – 9/10

Tillakaratne Dilshan – 9/10

Glenn McGrath – 8/10

Amit Mishra – 8/10

Best bet for Victoria Bushrangers:            Cameron White – 9/10

Brad Hodge – 8/10

Aiden Blizzard – 8/10

David Hussey -7/10

Gambhir backs IPL teams to perform well

Gautam Gambhir, Delhi Daredevil’s newly appointed captain has rubbished the talk of Indian Premier League (IPL) teams being at disadvantage due to lack of bonding in the teams as they gather only for six weeks in a year. Gambhir said, “Most of our international players have been playing one-day cricket and are in very good nick and that can be used to our advantage.”

Delhi opens their campaign against Victoria on October 9. The contest between the teams will be an interesting on as Victoria coach Greg Shipperd and his assistant David Saker are the ones in-charge of Delhi Daredevils as well during IPL. However for Champions League, Shipperd will assist Victoria while Saker will assist Delhi. On secrets being shared Gambhir said, “It is going to be even as we’ve got David Saker, who will pass on some information about Victoria players. So it is going to be good contest when you have two coaches who know each and every thing about every player.”

McGrath likely to replace Vettori

Delhi Daredevils have lost their third foreign player in less than a week’s time. Daniel Vettori who injured his hamstring during the semi-final of the Champions Trophy in South Africa is ruled out of the Champions League Twenty20. The New Zealand captain will now be replaced by veteran fast bowler Glenn McGrath. Apart from Vettori, South African AB DeVillers and Englishman Paul Collingwood is also out of the tournament due to injuries. All-rounder Collingwood will be replaced by Indian domestic player Yogesh Nagar who played for Delhi in this year’s Indian Premier League (IPL) in South Africa.

Daredevils’ manager Amrit Mathur said, “We have sought the approval from the organizers to replace the injured players and have given the names of McGrath and Nagar, who were part of the original squad of 20.” Collingwood withdrawal was confirmed by a ECB press release that stated “The scan revealed a grade-two tear and Paul has been withdrawn from the forthcoming Champions League in India in which he was due to play for Delhi Daredevils.”

Earlier Cricket South Africa advised unfit AB DeVillers to skip Champions League in order to take rest and get ready for international commitments in November. The inclusion of McGrath is interesting as the Australian great was keep out of the playing eleven throughout the second edition in South Africa as they team management doubted his fitness levels.

Sehwag steps down from captaincy

Delhi Daredevils captain Virender Sehwag has decided to step down from captaincy. The recent injury to the dashing opener convinced him concentrate on his batting and led to his decision. Following Sehwag’s announcement the Daredevils management has appointed his opening partner Gautam Gambhir as the new captain.

Gambhir will take in charge from the upcoming Champions League T20 and wicketkeeper batsman Dinesh Karthik has been appointed as his deputy. “I would like to thank GMR for their understanding in accepting my request to step down. Personally, I would like to concentrate on my own batting and contribute to the team” Sehwag said on thanking his franchise owners. The batsman also applauded the decision to elevate Gambhir as captain. “Gautam did a great job of captaining Delhi and also during IPL 2 in South Africa this year. He has shown very good leadership skills and will bring fresh energy into the Delhi Daredevils.”

Sehwag recently expressed his desire to step down from vice-captaincy role of the Indian team and told national selectors that someone else should be groomed from now on to take over the mantle form MS Dhoni whenever the time comes. Gambhir is not new to captaincy, as he led the Daredevils in a few matches during Indian Premier League (IPL) in South Africa when Sehwag was injured. The left-hander also captained Delhi in the domestic tournaments.

Maharoof leaves Delhi Daredevils

Dirk Nannes, the left-arm fast bowler from Australia has decided to represent his Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Delhi Daredevils in the Champions League whereas Sri Lankan Farveez Maharoof has decided otherwise. The all-rounder will play for his home side Wayamba, the only team representing Sri Lanka in the 12 team event.

Nannes who hogged the limelight during IPL 2009 with his fiery performance, got a big breakthrough in to international cricket when he represented Netherlands in the World Twenty20 because of his Dutch passport. However, after Australia’s first round exit in World Twenty20 tournament, the Australian selectors have named Nannes, who represents Australian domestic team Victoria Bushrangers, in their national T20 squad that will play England in the upcoming 2-match series.

The decision by Nannes means that team Delhi has to shed USD 200,000 to Victoria for Nannes’s services. On the other hand, Maharoof said the decision to choose between Delhi and Wayamba was a difficult one. “Choosing between Wayamba and Delhi was one of the hardest decisions of my career, but in the end I felt Wayamba was representing Sri Lanka in the Champions League and therefore it was my national duty to play for them,” Maharoof said.

“The decision was difficult because I have really enjoyed playing for Delhi in the past two years during the Indian Premier League and the franchise has looked after me and always been really supportive,” he added.

Earlier South African Herschelle Gibbs opted to play for his home team Cape Cobras instead of his IPL team Deccan Chargers, after he was named in the provisional 20-member Cobra squad. However, West Indian Dwayne Smith who’s both away teams – Deccan Chargers and English county team Sussex – have qualified has decided to play for Sussex. Similarly New Zealander Brendon McCullum will play for his home team Otago while his away team New South Wales has also qualified for the tournament.

The others who qualified for multiple teams are Australians Nathan Bracken, David Warner, Cameron White and Andrew McDonald are yet to decide their teams that they are willing to play for.

Australia call for ‘Dutch’ Nannes

Determined to find the right combo after miserable outing in the recently concluded World Twenty20, Australian national selectors have decided to call upon Australian born Dirk Nannes to join its Twenty20 squad to play against England following the Ashes. Michael Hussey and Nathan Bracken have been dropped while Ricky Ponting has been rested from playing two Twenty20 games and the start of the ODI series, as part of the work load management that Cricket Australia follows in his case.

Dirk Nannes made the international scene when he played for Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Delhi Daredevils in the 2009 edition in South Africa. Nannes impressed everyone with his penetrative bowling performances and even managed to keep veteran Glenn McGrath out of the playing eleven for the whole tournament. He later represented Netherlands at the recent ICC World Twenty20 event in England and continued to impress everyone.

On his call-up to the Australian team, Nannes said, “I was sitting at home and the phone rang and it was Michael Brown. He normally calls either if you’re selected or you’ve done something wrong. I was scratching my brain to work out what I’d done wrong because I had no idea there were even Twenty20s in England.”

Nannes is now hoping that he can perform well to keep his Australian cap and also is looking forward to play in the next World Twenty20 tournament in West Indies in Australian colors. “If I keep playing well, who knows, maybe I’ll get selected. But at the end of the day if I’ve still played for Australia that’s something that I’m absolutely rapt with and hopefully I do well.”

On his decision to rest Ponting, the chairman of selectors Andrew Hilditch said, “Ricky Ponting is having his workload managed and will return home to Australia after the fifth Test at the Oval and will miss the ODI against Scotland, the two Twenty20s and the start of the of the ODI series against England.”

“This is the last opportunity we have to give Ricky a break until next year, with the ICC Champions Trophy, ODIs against India and of course a full domestic summer against the West Indies and Pakistan to finish 2009. The plan for him to return to Australia before rejoining the team is considered the most appropriate course of action,” he added.

Michael Clarke will captain the team while wicket-keeper Brad Haddin has been appointed his deputy.

ODI squad: Ricky Ponting (Captain), Michael Clarke, Shane Watson, Michael Hussey, Callum Ferguson, Brad Haddin(Wk), Tim Paine, James Hopes, Cameron White, Mitchell Johnson, Brett Lee, Nathan Hauritz, Peter Siddle, Nathan Bracken, Ben Hilfenhaus.

Twenty20 squad: Michael Clarke (Captain), David Warner, Shane Watson, Callum Ferguson, David Hussey, Adam Voges, Brad Haddin(Wk), Cameron White, Mitchell Johnson, Brett Lee, Nathan Hauritz, Ben Hilfenhaus, Dirk Nannes.

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