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Must-win match for both teams

Vijay Lokapally

— Photo: PTI

BIG ASSET: Glenn McGrath, with his discipline and commitment, has brought quality into Daredevils’s attack.

NEW DELHI: The Duckworth and Lewis sheet is the most sought-after document at the Ferozeshah Kotla. Responsibility has been thrust on an individual to specifically monitor the weather and the equations that may change with the advent of rain as climatic alterations have cast a cloud of uncertainty on Delhi Daredevils’ future in the Indian Premier League.

“If it rains as it did on Tuesday, we might as well say goodbye to the match,” lamented a member of the groundstaff, overworked following a rare spell of heavy rain at this time of the year in this part of the country. If there is no match, Delhi Daredevils would reach a dead end in this competition.

But Virender Sehwag is not unduly perturbed. “We have no control over the weather. It is now a question of collectively putting together our strength and ambition to achieve the immediate goal, a place in the semifinal,” said Sehwag ahead of the crucial match against Kolkata Knight Riders.

Delhi Daredevils is convinced the journey thus far has been marked by some excellent teamwork even though there could be issues with some questionable selections.

The middle-order, for instance, has looked bare and out of place. A couple of bowling choices too are below standard but the team has battled on solely on the strength of its local force — Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Shikhar Dhawan and Rajat Bhatia, with the glorious exception of Glenn McGrath.

“McGrath has been an amazing asset,” asserted Sehwag. “He brings quality to the attack and the much-needed bite. His discipline has been the high point. He gets upset even with one bad ball.

In comparison, some of the youngsters show no traces of disappointment even when they repeatedly falter. All youngsters playing in IPL or otherwise should learn from McGrath. His discipline and commitment has made a huge impression on all of us in the team.”

“In Twenty20, it is difficult to do what you want because even one ball can change the course of a match. Of the six matches that we lost, at least two could have been won with support from the middle-order. But I am not worried because I know the players have given their best and winning and losing is part of the game,” said Sehwag.

Excellent chemistry

The feature of Delhi’s campaign has been the excellent chemistry between Sehwag and Gambhir, their explosive batting giving the team a distinct advantage at the top. “We enjoy each other’s batting. We interact, compliment, ridicule and curse each other all the time. I scold him for a bad shot and he scolds me too. But there is no pressure on us because we take responsibility to release pressure on the other."

Delhi, 12 points from 12 matches, needs to win to stay in contention. So does Kolkata Knight Riders, which has 10 points from 12 matches. A washout would spell disaster for both.

The teams (from):

Delhi Daredevils: Virender Sehwag (capt.), Gautam Gambhir, Shikhar Dhawan, A.B. de Villiers, Rajat Bhatia, Shoaib Malik, Dinesh Karthik, Glenn McGrath, Mohammad Asif, V. Yomahesh, Pradeep Sangwan, Farveez Maharoof, Mithun Manhas, Brett Geeves, Manoj Tiwary, Amit Mishra and Tillakaratne Dilshan.

Kolkata Knight Riders: Sourav Ganguly (capt.), Aakash Chopra, Salman Butt, David Hussey, Wriddhiman Saha, Ajit Agarkar, Shoaib Akhtar, Umar Gul, Iqbal Abdullah, Murali Kartik, Ishant Sharma, Ashok Dinda, L.R. Shukla, Md. Hafeez, T. Taibu, Debabrata Das and Ajantha Mendis.

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