It’s Hyderabad’s Charminar vs Delhi’s Qutub Minar at the IPL2020 Playoff 2 in Abu Dhabi
Which of these monuments will keep standing after this final battle for survival is over, Charminar of Hyderabad or Qutub Minar of Delhi? Put on your belts people, it’s time for playoff 2?
As expected Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) sent the Royal Challengers Bangalore packing, and now it’s Delhi Capitals that stand between them and an IPL2020 final berth.
SRH roundup
The Charminar is a monument, with four pillars/minarets, that stands in the heart of the old city of Hyderabad and is synonymous with the city and its people. In the same vein and quite appropriately, this Hyderabad team has its four pillars too, their four international players, David Warner, Kane Williamson, Jason Holder and Rashid Khan.
Hyderabad as a franchise has never shied away from making the tough decisions. Last year the team had Kane Williamson as captain, and they lost in the Eliminator to Delhi Capitals. This was something that did not go down well with the owners, so in came a new coach, Trevor Baylis, and David Warner was reinstated as the captain of the team. The important thing is that, although changes were made the core of the existing group was retained. From the coaching point, VVS Laxman and Muralidharan are still here and Williamson too remains an indispensable part of the leadership group which should serve well as a lesson in management for teams such as the Royal Challengers Bangalore.
This professional approach and meticulous planning is what makes this Hyderabad based outfit so dangerous, the whole is greater than the sum of it’s parts.
On the field Hyderabad had a slow start this season, but a few tactical changes later, they are now soaring like the eagle on the SRH logo.
The changes:
- Received wisdom says in t20 cricket the best batsman should get to bat the most number of balls hence its best he opens the innings. Initially SRH went with that and played two international openers at the top, Warner and Bairstow. But soon, as the results didn’t come, they realized sometimes you need to think out of the box. In came Williamson into the team, batting at 4 reinforcing the SRH middle order, and Wriddhiman Saha was promoted to open. A move that proved to be the catalyst for this outstanding SRH turnaround.
- Replacing an injured Shaun Marsh with Jason Holder even though they had Md Nabi in the mix, shows the franchise means business. In IPL 13 there are teams, like the Chennai Super Kings, who had not replaced their injured/departed players thinking the existing squad will manage, such teams have long since exited the tournament. Then there are teams like SRH, who are thorough professionals, doing everything formulaic and now when we see Jason Holder pulling off one coup after another, you know who to thank, if you are an SRH supporter.
Apart from these, there are other small changes like getting Shahbaz Nadeem to replace Khaleel or keeping faith with Garg and Samad etc that though understated, was important for the morale of the team. The only worry for Hyderabad was the absence of Wriddhiman in the last match, hopefully he is fit for this one.
DC roundup
Delhi Capitals last year were third on the table, beating Hyderabad in the eliminator, before losing to Chennai in Playoff 2. This year they were second on the table, which is an improvement, but they run the risk of losing in the playoff 2 this time as well. The Qutub Minar is crumbling and in desperate need of restoration right now, what are the problems for Delhi?
- The Delhi batting core of young exciting Indian players going completely bust. Prithvi Shaw right now looks like he can’t buy a run. Rishab Pant has tried to bat differently this season, going for a slow start approach instead of his usual ‘SLAM BAAM — THANK YOU MAAM’. While experimentation is good and well, but this approach has failed miserably, and in all honesty, Pant looks like a perplexed and confused puppy in the middle of a busy highway. The biggest let down has been Shreyas Iyer, this free flowing, extremely talented batsman has let the pressures of captaincy get to him. To the extent where he has let his thoughts affect his body language and demeanor on the field, which is a complete no-no in professional sports.
- Inclusion of Rahane in the team. Rahane is a great fielder, a good team man but he is not a t20 batsman. The only position where he can work is probably opening the batting, but that too is a stretch. The other problem with having Rahane in the team is that in this Delhi setup it would mean dropping Shimron Hetmyer, who, in my opinion, is one player that Delhi absolutely needs right now. But as things stand now, and with the slow nature of the Sheikh Zayed Stadium pitch, you would just let Rahane be in the team, but next year Delhi has to get this muddle cleared.
- Lacking that one quality Indian fast bowler. In a tournament like the IPL where you can only have four international players, playing two foreign fast bowlers can be a bit of an extravaganza. Delhi have missed Ishant Sharma, and the replacements for him like Mohit Sharma, Tushar Deshpande failing to fire has compounded the problem further.
Delhi, the state they are in right now, covered in smog and degrading faster by the minute, have nothing to lose really. No one expects them to beat Hyderabad in current form and that should really free Delhi of all mental servitude. It’s best that Delhi keeps backing the team that got them to this playoff in the first place.
In a knockout game, it’s ok to have a little bit of cushion in the batting, and Delhi needs it. Stoinis will be expected to bowl his full quota of 4 overs.
The Hyderabad team right now is one which everyone wants to avoid. They are by far the better team on paper and in form. But matches are not won on paper, and form is just another word for confidence. Delhi should focus on the process and keep believing, after all miracles do happen, and a miracle is what Delhi Capitals need today.
#MyVerdict
It’s difficult to see how Hyderabad can NOT win this game. Their players are full of confidence, raring to go and they are up against a Delhi team that is in the midst of a nightmare.
Sunrisers Hyderabad is my pick for this one.
