Monday 8 April 2013

Sehwag still doubtful

          
Delhi's middle order crumbled in both matches, and with Kevin Pietersen and Jesse Ryder sidelined for the entire tournament, Delhi need to find answers elsewhere. At the moment, too much seems to depend on David Warner, whose 77 against Rajasthan Royals propelled the chase, and Mahela Jayawardene, the captain, while Unmukt Chand is yet to fire.Yadav and Delhi will be up against a Mumbai side who have looked the part so far. They were a little unlucky to lose to Royal Challengers Bangalore, falling short by two runs thanks to Chris Gayle's brilliance and a restrictive final over by Vinay Kumar. However, they got their first points of the tournament when they beat the powerhouse, Chennai Super Kings, by nine runs on Saturday with a fine team performance.Virender Sehwag's return could solve a few issues, allowing Chand to move down the order. But it remains to be seen if Sehwag, who missed the first two games through back problems, has recovered sufficiently to play on Tuesday.Delhi need a win to arrest the looming threat of a losing streak, a far cry from the consistency they displayed last year while topping the league stage. Delhi won both matches against Mumbai convincingly in 2012, adding a 37-run win at the Feroz Shah Kotla to their seven-wicket win at the Wankhede. They would give a lot for a repeat performance, but with injuries and availability issues denying them the services of key players, they'll need a special effort to muster some form.Delhi did have something to smile about in Umesh Yadav's performance against Rajasthan, who returned figures of 4 for 24 while taking out almost all of Rajasthan's top order. He bowled with good pace, consistently hitting the 140-145 region, and should be licking his lips at the prospect of getting some swing at the Wankhede Stadium, given its proximity to the sea.

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