0, 0, 17, 15... Sri Lankan star batsman's run of scores is hurting the Delhi Daredevils

Dilshan's poor run of form is a big worry for Daredevils

0, 0, 17, 15... Sri Lankan star batsman's run of scores is hurting the Delhi Daredevils

Maybe Delhi should play their matches away from home.

Two matches as hosts and two defeats have put the Daredevils off their stride quite rudely and they would be looking for answers.

Tillakaratne Dilshan

The middle-order has failed and irrespective of what the new captain says, it's a real problem, especially since the top-order is already short of Gautam Gambhir, while Virender Sehwag is scoring in every game.
AB de Villiers and Tillakaratne Dilshan are not doing what they should and that is leaving Delhi short by quite a few runs. It was no secret that there is very little else in the lower middle-order but surely there is a case to attend to the mid-life crisis of Delhi's batting.

Best of the lot
"It's tough to pinpoint one person," stand-in skipper Dinesh Karthik said after the five-wicket loss against Chennai Super Kings yesterday. "We have seen what AB and Dilshan can do in T20 cricket and Dilshan is the top T20 player in the world."

Whatever the captain may say, Dilshan isn't delivering and it is time that all concerned saw the light. It's time Mithun Manhas, who has been consistent, is brought up the order, Dilshan showed the way to the dugout and Faraveez Maharoof kept in the side, for some time at least.

The bowling wasn't bad really, given that Delhi suddenly had lesser number of runs to play with than they had hoped for when Virender Sehwag was in party mood.

Variety is the key
Super Kings captain Suresh Raina, also a new man on the job, used five bowlers in the first five overs but "when Sehwag is batting, you have to try different things."

"God was kind," he said. "We played a good match and Hayden was great. It is a good start to my captaincy."
Delhi also fell prey to the Mongoose, as Matthew Hayden scored 93 runs with the new bat. Asked what the difference was, Karthik said, rather deflated. "No difference: "He still plays the same."
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Raina also tried the bat for a few deliveries but it wasn't his thing. "Hayden knows how to play with that bat, he practised two hours with it. I tried it for a while but it didn't really suit me."

Coming back to the Delhi batting. "I was not impressed with our batting," Karthik said. "We lose too many wickets in the middle and that affects our total."

In other words, the middle-order isn't doing what it is supposed to. Karthik also doesn't believe in momentum. "I take it one match at a time and really do not believe in momentum." In sharp contrast, all other captains and coaches say momentum is the key in T20 cricket.