With two wins in their last three matches the Delhi Daredevils Indian Premier League season is not over.
They have revamped their XI – replacing skipper Gautam Gambhir – so it could be argued that punters need to look again at a team which has not made the play-offs since 2012.
On Saturday they face a stern test against Sunrisers Hyderabad, whose bowling unit is expected to carry them very close to the final.
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The Delhi victories have come against Rajasthan Royals and Kolkata Knight Riders. Both were eyebrow raising, although for different reasons.
Against the Royals their batting, which has been pretty good throughout even with the loss of Gambhir, blitzed the Royals attack for 196.
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Rain then intervened and left the Royals needing 151 in 12 overs. And this was where the old Delhi would surely have crumbled.
They had been hopeless at keeping things tight in the field, showing an alarming lack of discipline in sticking to line and length.
On some occasions they appeared to have no plan at all as to how to bowl at particular batsmen. For a while it looked like a classic Delhi show as the Royals began to romp it.
But then Delhi pulled it out of the fire. They landed yorkers, wide yorkers, slower balls. They squeezed home by four runs. Impressive.
Their batting also fired versus Kolkata, although at the opposite end of an innings to when you would expect.
They smashed an average of 18 off the death overs against what is normally a pretty decent KKR attack. This proved they can go big at the start and end of an innings.
When you can do that it doesnt really matter what happens in between.
Delhi are 6-5 to beat Sunrisers, who are best at 8-11 with Skybet. A win would put them bang in the race for qualification.
More: Cricket
Shreyas Iyer and Rish Pant are the local boys who have done best from Gambhirs exclusion. And both are worth following for top-bat honours.
They have little to beat and their quality will have to shine through against the Sunrisers. They are both 4-1 with Betfair Sportsbook.
MORE: Steve Smith speaks out for the first time since being banned for cheating
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With two wins in their last three matches the Delhi Daredevils Indian Premier League season is not over.
They have revamped their XI – replacing skipper Gautam Gambhir – so it could be argued that punters need to look again at a team which has not made the play-offs since 2012.
On Saturday they face a stern test against Sunrisers Hyderabad, whose bowling unit is expected to carry them very close to the final.
More: Cricket
The Delhi victories have come against Rajasthan Royals and Kolkata Knight Riders. Both were eyebrow raising, although for different reasons.
Against the Royals their batting, which has been pretty good throughout even with the loss of Gambhir, blitzed the Royals attack for 196.
AdvertisementAdvertisement
Rain then intervened and left the Royals needing 151 in 12 overs. And this was where the old Delhi would surely have crumbled.
They had been hopeless at keeping things tight in the field, showing an alarming lack of discipline in sticking to line and length.
On some occasions they appeared to have no plan at all as to how to bowl at particular batsmen. For a while it looked like a classic Delhi show as the Royals began to romp it.
But then Delhi pulled it out of the fire. They landed yorkers, wide yorkers, slower balls. They squeezed home by four runs. Impressive.
Their batting also fired versus Kolkata, although at the opposite end of an innings to when you would expect.
They smashed an average of 18 off the death overs against what is normally a pretty decent KKR attack. This proved they can go big at the start and end of an innings.
When you can do that it doesnt really matter what happens in between.
Delhi are 6-5 to beat Sunrisers, who are best at 8-11 with Skybet. A win would put them bang in the race for qualification.
More: Cricket
Shreyas Iyer and Rish Pant are the local boys who have done best from Gambhirs exclusion. And both are worth following for top-bat honours.
They have little to beat and their quality will have to shine through against the Sunrisers. They are both 4-1 with Betfair Sportsbook.
MORE: Steve Smith speaks out for the first time since being banned for cheating
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