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Another pace versus spin dilemma for Sehwag


rkt.india

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Twelve overs, one wicket, 122 runs. A combined economy rate of 10.17, in a match where spinners from both sides went at 6.38. In hindsight, it is easy to say that Virender SehwagÃÔ decision to play three quicks in Morne Morkel, Umesh Yadav and Varun Aaron on the slow, abrasive Subrata Roy Sahara stadium cost Daredevils the first Qualifier against Knight Riders. But Sehwag defended their selection after the match. Å·arun Aaron and Umesh Yadav were bowling brilliantly so I could not have dropped them, he said. Ūt was a tough choice when it came to selecting the bowlers. We thought that the grass might help the pacers. In games like these, you need to back yourself in whatever decisions you make. But I donÃÕ think it was our day. To an extent, SehwagÃÔ quandary was understandable. Morkel and Umesh had been his two go-to bowlers all season, and both were among the top six wicket-takers in the tournament. Aaron, meanwhile, was hitting a good run of form. In his three most recent games, he had bowled an economical spell of none for 25 in the away game against Punjab, been the only Delhi bowler with an economy rate of under 10 when Bangalore made 215 for one against them at home, and had taken two for 19 in his four overs against Punjab at home. But Sehwag knew he was disregarding the warning signs of DelhiÃÔ previous visit to the Pune, when Umesh and Morkel had conceded 74 in their eight overs for the measly reward of one wicket. In playing Aaron, Sehwag had three quicks whose extra pace was a double-edged sword capable of blowing batsmen away or, if slightly off with their direction, of bleeding runs. Had his gamble paid off, Sehwag would have been praised for backing his most attacking weapons. Lack of spin options Psychologically, Sehwag might have found it difficult to leave Aaron out for left-arm spinner Shahbaz Nadeem who had bowled a spell of 4-0-22-0 in DelhiÃÔ previous game at Pune. Aaron, after all, has a higher profile. Gut feel would always suggest you play your ÃÃest players all the time. This, essentially, was DelhiÃÔ biggest problem ahead of the playoffs. Right from the time they had a fully formed squad, everyone knew that they had no shortage of quality pace options, but lacked any real match-winners in the spin department. Nadeem has had a largely undistinguished first-class career for Jharkhand and East Zone, averaging 34.34 with the ball. Pawan Negi is a batting all-rounder for Delhi. South African Roelof van der Merwe, meanwhile, averages 37.71 in first class cricket and is primarily seen as a defensive Twenty20 bowler. None of them is an attacking bowler, and all are of the left-arm orthodox variety. This immediately puts Delhi at a disadvantage against most teams on slow turners. And Pune and Chennai, DelhiÃÔ two playoff venues, offer among the most spin-friendly conditions in the IPL. In their second Qualifier at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, DelhiÃÔ spin attack even if Sehwag were to play Nadeem or van der Merwe in support of Negi will once again suffer in comparison to that of their opponents, on paper and very likely on the field as well. Even if they were to go on and win the title this season, the Delhi think-tank would want to remedy this weakness before next season comes around. Top-order might But DelhiÃÔ batting, on more occasions than not, has made up for their deficiencies in the spin department. Against Kolkata, they would have probably won had either Sehwag or David Warner stayed at the crease for a decent length of time. Kolkata skipper Gautam Gambhir wouldnÃÕ have believed his luck when both fell in the space of two balls. One school of thought, following the openers twin failures against Kolkata, might advocate that one of Sehwag and Warner play in the middle order in Chennai, to make it harder for the opposition captain to shuffle his bowlers around. Equally, it would reduce the risk of losing both to one inspired spell, or to the possibility of the new ball swinging under lights. But the other, approach would be to allow both to spend the maximum possible time in the middle, give them the luxury of the powerplay overs, and allow them to win the game in half an hour. Both fell cheaply against Kolkata. To Sehwag, that was probably a freak occurrence. http://www.indianexpress.com/news/another-pace-versus-spin-dilemma-for-sehwag/953035/

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One big mistake DD made during league games is that didn't bowl Nagar at all, so he will be short of match practice in bowling. He could be handy on turners like Pune and could easily replace Bradman Rao. I think one of Aaron/Umesh will be replaced by Nadeem. Hopefully Nagar will come in for Rao and will bowl a few overs.

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One big mistake DD made during league games is that didn't bowl Nagar at all' date=' so he will be short of match practice in bowling. He could be handy on turners like Pune and could easily replace [b']Bradman Rao. I think one of Aaron/Umesh will be replaced by Nadeem. Hopefully Nagar will come in for Rao and will bowl a few overs.
:hysterical::hysterical::hysterical:
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