Daredevils Secure Spot

By Gulu Ezekiel

After Friday’s match, it is now almost certain that Delhi Daredevils will be one of the four teams in the semifinals and Mumbai Indians join Kolkata Knight Riders as one of the four certain not to make it.
MI were the most expensive franchise when purchased last year by Mukesh Ambani and with Sachin Tendulkar as their icon player and captain, they were one of the glamour teams as well.
Their poor run this year therefore is one of the more surprising aspects of IPL II.
Last year nothing went right for them at the start. With Tendulkar unfit and unable to play till halfway through, the captaincy was given to Harbhajan Singh. But the ‘Slapgate’ affair meant he was banned and then Shaun Pollock took over.
By the time Tendulkar made an appearance, their situation was precarious. And although they came agonizingly close to the semifinals—losing a number of extremely tight matches—a fifth place finish was just not good enough. This year the batting has depended too much on the old reliable pair of Tendulkar and Sanath Jayasuriya. Their form has been patchy however and it has been left to South Africa’s JP Duminy to shore up the batting. The team has been prone to batting collapses and their defeat at the hands of Deccan Chargers just when they looked to have the run chase under control was a perfect example of that fragility.
While Lasith Malinga has played a stellar role with the ball, the biggest flop has been Harbhajan Singh. He has played all nine games so far but has picked up a mere five wickets.
Even though three Indian icons faced the chopping block from the captaincy this year, it is unthinkable that the MI would consider doing the same. It is a fact though that Tendulkar is not the sharpest tactically as was proved by his two stints as captain of the Indian team, both of which were failures. It would take something extraordinary now for MI to turn things around and they must reconcile themselves to a second year out of the top four.

www.sportshero.com (9/5/09)