IPL 2022: How abandoning batting inhibitions helped Delhi Capitals beat Kolkata Knight Riders – Firstcricket News, Firstpost

Between 2008 and 2012, the Delhi Capitals – then Delhi Daredevils – had made it to the top four thrice. Then began a slump, when they finished in the bottom three for six consecutive seasons, including three wooden spoons. In 2019, a new-look Delhi stunned everyone to reach the playoffs and even reach the top three. In 2020, they reached the final for the first time. In 2021, they topped the group stage for the first time in 12 years.

For six years, Delhi had been arguably the weakest side of the tournament. Then, after three excellent outings, they went into 2022 as one of the favourites. They began the season well, chasing 178 to beat Mumbai Indians. Then they stuttered against the two new sides, scoring 157/9 against Gujarat Titans and 149/3 against Lucknow Super Giants, losing both matches.

Delhi Capitals’ ultra-aggressive approach with the bat led them to victory against Kolkata Knight Riders. Image: Sportzpics

They took time to settle down. One may argue that it had to do with the fact that their entire overseas contingent took time to arrive. They were particularly hit by the absence of David Warner and Mitchell Marsh. In fact, so depleted was the squad they could field only two overseas players – Rovman Powell and Tim Seifert – in their first match.

It was evident that, if fit and available, their bowling – Anrich Nortje, Mustafizur Rahman, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Shardul Thakur – was one of the best of this edition. True, Nortje was not at his fittest, but it was only a matter of time before he would be back at his pomp.

The problem lay in batting. They adopted almost identical approaches in the first two matches until 15 overs, reaching 122/6 against Mumbai and 126/6 against Gujarat. They still beat Mumbai, but that was due to a freak seventh-wicket stand between Lalit Yadav and Axar Patel. Lightning did not strike against Gujarat.

Against Lucknow, however, they finally got Warner back. And with that, they finally revealed their plan. In an ideal set-up, their top five should have consisted of Warner, Prithvi Shaw, Marsh, Rishabh Pant, and Rovman Powell. With Marsh unavailable, it was important for the other four to bat as high as possible.

Unfortunately, with Warner also unavailable, Delhi had been losing too many wickets too soon, which forced them to hold Powell back. Even Warner’s return did not solve the problem. Delhi’s first-wicket partnership against Lucknow – 67 in 45 balls – seems impressive, but Shaw alone scored 61 off them, off 34 balls. Warner batted 12 balls for his four.

Despite Warner’s failure, however, that partnership enabled Delhi to bat Powell and Pant at three and four. Powell’s failure prompted them to push Sarfaraz Khan ahead of Lalit. In the end, Lalit did not even get to bat. On a difficult wicket, Pant and Sarfaraz struggled, adding only 75 unbroken runs for the fourth wicket in 57 balls. Predictably, they lost.

T20 cricket offers a batting side two resources – overs and wickets. Given how rarely a side gets bowled out inside 20 overs, the extra risk is always worth taking. Against Lucknow, Delhi ran out of overs despite having seven wickets in hand. In other words, a suboptimal utilisation of resources.

Against Kolkata Knight Riders, Warner abandoned all caution, even as Shaw continued to be at his destructive best. As a result, Delhi reached fifty in four overs. By the end of the Powerplay, they were 68/0 – already their best in 2022 by some distance.

Shaw batted at roughly the same pace (strike rate 179 against Lucknow, 176 against Kolkata), but the team approach was different. Unlike the Lucknow match, Delhi attacked the new ball at both ends in the powerplay overs.

After Shaw fell in the ninth over, Delhi continued with their no-holds-barred approach. Against Lucknow, Delhi had let the advantage slip in the middle overs by scoring at under five and a half an over. Against Kolkata, Pant promoted himself to three. And he and Warner continued to attack at both ends.

At some point, their high-risk batting was about to result in wickets. When Delhi lost wickets, they lost four in a bunch. And yet, they did not release the pressure. They held back Sarfaraz, who had struggled in the death overs against Lucknow. Instead, they promoted Axar, one of the batting heroes against Mumbai at the death, and Shardul Thakur.

The pair added an unbroken 49 in 20 balls. Between them, they hit three fours and four sixes. Delhi scored at over 10 an over in every segment – powerplay, middle overs, and at the death – to reach 215/3, the highest total of IPL 2022.

They eventually won the match by 44 runs.

Abhishek Mukherjee is the Chief Editor at CricketNews and co-author of Sachin and Azhar at Cape Town.

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