What’s the story?
Rahul Dravid, the mentor of the Delhi Daredevils cut a frustrated figure after his team folded for a paltry 69 against the Kings XI Punjab and went on to lose the match by 10 wickets.
They are now languishing at the bottom of the points table with just 2 wins from 8 games.
"There's not much to say when you get out for 67. We were pretty disappointing on the day with our execution. We can only go up from here. We are better than what we showed today. We were very poor and didn't bat intelligently. We didn't access the conditions well enough and didn't give ourselves a chance, Dravid said at the post-match presser.
"There have been times where we've played pretty good cricket. There have been times where we've lost close games. The three games that we lost were relatively close. The last couple of games we've not played well. Even in Calcutta, I thought we were very good in the first 15 overs and then lost the game in the last five overs,” he further added.
The Details
Delhi were left red-faced when they were bundled out for 69 by an inspired Punjab bowling attack and Dravid made his frustration pretty clear after the match.
He said that the players are pretty experienced at this level and that they have to grasp these opportunities as the fans and the franchise deserved much better from the team.
Delhi now need to win at least five of their remaining six games t o give them a chance of qualifying for playoffs and Dravid believes that the players have to inspire themselves and believe in their ability as they are best suited to bounce back from such a demoralising defeat.
In case you didn’t know...
Delhi were dealt a severe blow before the match as regular captain Zaheer Khan was sidelined owing to an injury and young Karun Nair was given the mantle of the team. Karun lost the toss and had to bat first and the Delhi side never got going as they were blown away by Sandeep Sharma in the powerplays.
No batsman could have any impact on the game and they folded for a mere 69. In reply, Punjab romped home by 10 wickets as Martin Guptill smashed a whirlwind half-century.
What's next?
Delhi face an uphill battle from here on and this week could well define their season. They are up against Sunrisers Hyderabad, Gujarat Lions and Mumbai Indians. All of these games will be home affair for them and this provides them with an opportunity to resurrect their campaign.
Author's Take
Delhi have never looked a settled unit and they have tinkered with their combination in the pursuit of a winning team, but the results have betrayed them.
Dravid is normally a calm personality but these statements reflect the fact that even he is frustrated with the results. However, Delhi are still in with a shout this season and this should inspire them to rectify their flaws.
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