Delhi Daredevils

[Predator_05]

Don't forget the fans. We're perfect too. :D

[guju24]

Delhi is one of the best team on paper and on the field in IPL...they have started good and i hope they carry on this momentum till the final....they have perfect team to win the DLF IPL first season...GO DELHI DELHI...

[amits]

i always knew that the delhi daredevils team is the best. we have the best indian players. delhi even won the ranji trophy as well & we will win the ipl easily sehwag & gambhir - best opening combination in ipl dhawan - better than the rohit sharmas & robin uthappas we have in the indian team. also, 10x better than yuvraj singh even dinesh kartik - the best wicket-keeper in india in terms of wicket-keeping ability manoj tiwary - exciting youngster. was in a smashing form last year yomahesh - 1 of the finds of the 2006 u-19 wc. can bowl at 140+ kph amit mishra - the next kumble rajat bhatia - indias loss, delhis gain and among foreign players mcgrath - very economical bowler. wont concede more than 6 rpo at any cost asif - best bowler pak has as of now. has the ability to dimiss left-handers quickly vettori - another very economical bowler. has a economy rate of <6 in 20/20 malik - another talented cricketer from pakistan. can utilise the middle overs well devilliers - explosive middle-order batsman from sa

[flamy]

I'm still waiting for their middle order to be tested.

[theguyinallblue]

Delhi is well Balanced...but lets not forget..many teams are missing their key players...and many will miss their key players in 10-12 days.. so it will be interesting in the second leg of the tournament... Rajasthan and Banglore will gain strength..Calcutta will lose some of its players...and Punjab will be the weakest..when Lee goes...along with Hopes... Chennai will lose Hayden and Hussey.. so in coming days..i see Banglore..Delhi...and Rajasthan..winning more matches than others..

[jalebi33]

Delhi has the best bowlers and the best opening attack (McGrath + Asif) in the IPL. They also have the best opening batsmen pair. However, they don't have any depth. After Karthik, you have a bunch of untested youngsters. They're talented, but they may or may not pan out. They won't know until later in the season when the team is actually challenged.

[King]

By the looks of it, every team has a chance given they play so many round robin games. I think the fortunes are going to change but quite surely Delhi should at least be able to make it to semis.

[theguyinallblue]

i don't like the idea of deciding the winner with a one off match... it should be like ..what happens in EPL.. the team which is more consistent is given the championship...

[Gambit]

Our middle order better get tested before the final. Don't want a situation of 30/3 in the final with n00bs coming in to bat for the first or second time in the tournament.

[mhr123]

Our middle order better get tested before the final. Don't want a situation of 30/3 in the final with n00bs coming in to bat for the first or second time in the tournament.

Gambo our middle Order already got tested in the last match , at eden garden. Actually it was our middle order that took us through.

[Desi Cartman]

Don't forget the fans. We're perfect too. :D

and thats really important :yay::yay::yay::yay::yay::yay::yay:

[abhinav]

This Delhi team rocks! The best part is that the team is going to remain undisturbed through the tournament..no departures other the Vettori at a late stage. The nucleus and understanding they will build over the month will carry them through. I am getting my Devil's tshirt today!!! :yay::two_thumbs_up:

[Gambit]

Gambo our middle Order already got tested in the last match ' date=' at eden garden. Actually it was our middle order that took us through.[/quote'] Oh bhai, I'm supporting DD and KKR...and Mumbai when SRT plays. :-D

[mhr123]

Oh bhai' date=' I'm supporting DD and KKR...and Mumbai when SRT plays. :-D[/quote'] hmm.. thats cool. I will also support Mumbai when SRT plays and when he gets out i will switch back to KKR :icflove:(when KKR and Mumbai Indians meet).

[Cricketics]

I am getting my Devil's tshirt today!!! :yay::two_thumbs_up:

hi mate, where did u order ur shirt from??

[Feed]

Versatile AB all set to dazzle For some time now, de Villiers has been one of those rare players whose batting style needs only minor adjustments to adapt from one form of the game to another, reports Anand Vasu. More... Versatile AB all set to dazzle Anand Vasu, Hindustan Times New Delhi, April 29, 2008 First Published: 23:36 IST(29/4/2008) Last Updated: 23:41 IST(29/4/2008) Last Friday AB de Villiers top-scored with 46 off only 24 balls to lead the Titans to victory over the Dolphins in the final of South Africa's domestic Twenty20 tournament. After 24 hours of flying with hops at Addis Ababa, Mumbai and Chandigarh, he's finally made it to the Kotla, home of the Delhi team, scratched from diving around on the field, and unshaven from the tedium of travel. He arrives at a perfect time for Delhi, who have been bowling-strong all tournament, but now have a batsman who is at the top of his game and in the form of his life. It was earlier this month that the South African team was celebrating de Villiers's coming of age as he rattled off a double-century in Ahmedabad. The white clothes and red balls might be history in this season of IPL razzmatazz but one shot sticks in the mind. Harbhajan Singh came round the stumps to restrict the free-scoring de Villiers, and the response was a falling slog-sweep, struck so hard that the batsman lay on the pitch and watched with glee as the ball just kept climbing and landed on the roof of the stands. It was the biggest hit anyone had seen at Ahmedabad. He now has smaller grounds and a bigger stage to showcase his hitting, and he certainly won't be pulling any punches. “The key to doing well, in any form of the game is knowing your own game well. You have to know exactly what your strengths are and where your weaknesses lie,” said de Villiers. “I have my game plan and I stick to my game.” For some time now, de Villiers has been one of those rare players whose batting style needs only minor adjustments to adapt from one form of the game to another. While he plays the conventional strokes well enough, the cover-drive and the cut are favourites and he's equally adept at scoring in unusual areas. He whips the ball over midwicket with a pick-up shot that isn't coached anywhere. He manufactures shots against good balls, swatting through the off side with a short back lift or tucking the ball round the corner with a turn of the wrists. An all-round batsman, de Villiers is just as adept at handling the fast men off the back foot as he's happy to use his feet to the spinners. But then again, you don't succeed at the highest level if you're one-dimensional, and de Villiers is not unique. What does give him an edge is that he thinks on his feet. “One thing players will realise as they play more and more Twenty20 cricket is that there's always more time than you think,” he says. With that knowledge already on board, de Villiers could become the lynchpin of the Delhi team's batting.

[swami1984]

For some time now' date=' de Villiers has been one of those rare players whose batting style needs only minor adjustments to adapt from one form of the game to another, reports [b']Anand Vasu. More... Versatile AB all set to dazzle Anand Vasu, Hindustan Times New Delhi, April 29, 2008 First Published: 23:36 IST(29/4/2008) Last Updated: 23:41 IST(29/4/2008) Last Friday AB de Villiers top-scored with 46 off only 24 balls to lead the Titans to victory over the Dolphins in the final of South Africa's domestic Twenty20 tournament. After 24 hours of flying with hops at Addis Ababa, Mumbai and Chandigarh, he's finally made it to the Kotla, home of the Delhi team, scratched from diving around on the field, and unshaven from the tedium of travel. He arrives at a perfect time for Delhi, who have been bowling-strong all tournament, but now have a batsman who is at the top of his game and in the form of his life. It was earlier this month that the South African team was celebrating de Villiers's coming of age as he rattled off a double-century in Ahmedabad. The white clothes and red balls might be history in this season of IPL razzmatazz but one shot sticks in the mind. Harbhajan Singh came round the stumps to restrict the free-scoring de Villiers, and the response was a falling slog-sweep, struck so hard that the batsman lay on the pitch and watched with glee as the ball just kept climbing and landed on the roof of the stands. It was the biggest hit anyone had seen at Ahmedabad. He now has smaller grounds and a bigger stage to showcase his hitting, and he certainly won't be pulling any punches. “The key to doing well, in any form of the game is knowing your own game well. You have to know exactly what your strengths are and where your weaknesses lie,†said de Villiers. “I have my game plan and I stick to my game.†For some time now, de Villiers has been one of those rare players whose batting style needs only minor adjustments to adapt from one form of the game to another. While he plays the conventional strokes well enough, the cover-drive and the cut are favourites and he's equally adept at scoring in unusual areas. He whips the ball over midwicket with a pick-up shot that isn't coached anywhere. He manufactures shots against good balls, swatting through the off side with a short back lift or tucking the ball round the corner with a turn of the wrists. An all-round batsman, de Villiers is just as adept at handling the fast men off the back foot as he's happy to use his feet to the spinners. But then again, you don't succeed at the highest level if you're one-dimensional, and de Villiers is not unique. What does give him an edge is that he thinks on his feet. “One thing players will realise as they play more and more Twenty20 cricket is that there's always more time than you think,†he says. With that knowledge already on board, de Villiers could become the lynchpin of the Delhi team's batting.

I'm jealous of the Delhi team - you guys have the perfect combination IMO - Indian batsmen and phoren bowlers :-D

[Chandan]

Delhi has no plan B for IPL matches! It’s plan B or not to be for the Delhi team Anand Vasu, Hindustan Times Mumbai , May 06, 2008 First Published: 01:52 IST(6/5/2008) Last Updated: 01:59 IST(6/5/2008) If you fail to plan, you plan to fail, goes the adage, but as with everything else, Twenty20 cricket has forced a slight modification here as well. It's not enough merely to have a plan, you have to have multiple plans, back-ups and the ability to think on your feet and react to changing situations. The Delhi team has been extremely successful in the implementation of its master plan. First they went all out in stocking their bowling department with medium-pacers. For a new-ball pairing you just can't get better than Glenn McGrath and Mohammad Asif, for stable and sensible support there's Farveez Maharoof, V. Yomahesh and Rajat Bhatia. Amit Mishra is the lone specialist spinner in the squad but he hasn't got a look-in so far. In Twenty20 cricket, it is often only two overs that change the course of the game. If those two critical overs come right at the start it makes the job of those that follow that much easier. Delhi are well equipped when it comes to the start of the innings, whether it comes to bowling or batting. In almost every game McGrath and Asif have picked up early wickets and it's not a coincidence that in the last game they lost, to the Mumbai team, Delhi were unable to force a breakthrough in the first five overs. When Delhi have been forced to think outside their main plan, things haven't been perfect. The only time they voluntarily changed things around, and chose to bat first, they scraped together 158 against Mohali and even after getting early wickets could not defend their total. With Daniel Vettori going back to New Zealand to play against England, the lack of spinner in the mix is something the team will have to think about, for their attack is robbed of variety when they play only medium-pacers. Virender Sehwag and Shoaib Malik have been sharing spin duties, but canny as they are, they're only part-time bowlers. With almost half the tournament gone, trends and patterns are becoming clear and Delhi's test comes when they are pushed into a situation where they have to deviate from their script for the perfect game and have to activate Plan B. When it comes to the batting as well, it is up front that Delhi are loaded with. Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir have taken bowlers to the cleaners. When they don't come off, though, the type of batsmen they have in middle and late order leave them a little thin. AB de Villiers hasn't yet fired. Malik can play the big shots, but is not one of those brutal hitters. Bhatia is versatile and Maharoof will have a go, but scoring consistently at 10-plus an over may be asking too much. “There are some people who have a name as big-hitters. That does not mean others can't score quickly,†T.A. Sekar, who runs the Delhi team, insists. “We have players capable of playing the kind of shots needed in Twenty20.†To labour the point, all this is very well when things are going your way. Among the league leaders the Chennai team have Mahendra Singh Dhoni to bail them out if they're in a jam and Rajasthan turn to Shane Watson. Not all teams have these floaters and the results underscore their value. Delhi now have to look at ways of moving away from their main plan and build some flexibility into their team, as the team that adapts best will give itself the highest chance of succeeding. -------------------------------------------------------- We saw what happened when Delhi's lower middle order and tail was exposed in two matches. Delhi indeed needs some flexibility in their plan and a good spinner is certainly going to handy like what Chawla is to Punjab, Warne is to Royals and Harbhajan was to Mumbai. Apart from that, Karthik onwards the batting hasn't clicked at all. This might prove problematic for Delhi, once they lose early wickets. Bhatia isn't able to bat at all and his bowling has also not been needed for Delhi often. Delhi has to think quickly in the second half of the tournament.

[Rajiv]

..while we can ponder about many points..chennai this, delhi that..but this version is anybodys game

[Zap_Brannigan]

You can say the same about chennai too,but first things first. Delhi is top heavy in both batting and bowling. But since the quality of McGrath and Asif is pretty high in this format so far, they dont need to worry about it. Even if all the other bowlers get plundered, these 2 guys can manage to keep to total to around par level. But Delhis problem is with the bat. Unless Gambhir or Sehwag fires, it will be very hard for them to get a high score. In the end, given the quality of these 4 players makes Delhi look like the most balanced side in the competition. Chennai seem to have the best batting (apart from DC)at the start of the trny with a very mediocre bowling line up. They had 4 good players who could play the shots as well as run the singles hard. It was evident in the 1st few games. But with the departure of hayden, the top order is struggling. Even with hayden around, we never scored massively in the 1st few overs nut maintained a steady momentum from the 1st over till the last. With Patel and Flemming opening, it hasnt happened and there is too much pressure on Raina and Dhoni. Wht they need to do now is remove patel and go with someone who can hit in the 1st 6 overs. Make sure the 1st 3 players get early momentum and maintain that till the end.