IPL: Delhi is the team to beat this year Print E-mail
Category: Indian Premier League
Written by Luke Tagg   
Sunday, 14 March 2010 23:31
The opening salvos of the third edition of the IPL were fired this weekend and based on the evidence the strongest team in the tournament this year appears to be the Delhi Daredevils.

The Kolkata Knight Riders have won both of their games so far, including a good victory in the first game against defending champions Deccan Chargers, but I can't help feeling they'd get flattened by Delhi were they to play them right now.

The Deccan Chargers themselves proved that the opening game was a nervy start for them, by crushing the Chennai Super Kings on Sunday. They too are going to be a big threat this season.

The Mumbai Indians scored the highest total of the five games to date - 212 - but conceded 208 to the Rajasthan Royals in return. Their batting is strong but their bowling needs some work.

Mind you, the only reason that game came close was down to Yusuf Pathan's spectacular 37-ball century for Rajasthan, the fastest in IPL history. The rest of the side didn't contribute much else.

The fact that the Royals got so close should be a confidence booster - if they can get Shaun Tait taking wickets as opposed to bowling wides, they should be a lot better.

Their problem is that they face the Delhi Daredevils on Monday, in the only fixture of the day. Which is not good news for them.

Delhi are the best side because they have the best balance. They are stuffed with powerful hitters and wicket-taking bowlers and are arguably the best fielding side in the competition.

A side whose top four is Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag, Tillakaratne Dilshan and AB de Villiers is one you need to make lots and lots and lots of runs against. Those guys can set or chase huge scores.

Delhi easily chased down the Kings XI Punjab's total of 142, despite three of those top four failing. Taking one of their wickets is almost heartbreaking when you see the replacement killer striding to the wicket.

Making all those runs against them is no easy task, however - Dirk Nannes and Farveez Maharoof are tough to get away at the start of an innings and Amit Mishra ties you up in the middle. The other bowlers all pull their weight and none of them are eminently spankable.

It's early days yet - none of the sides that have been beaten so far look utterly out of it, except perhaps the Royal Challengers Bangalore.

They have a major excuse though: they're still awaiting the arrival of Cameron White, Ross Taylor and Kevin Pietersen to boost their ranks. That's some serious firepower they're missing in the early part of the season - three of the biggest power hitters in the game.

I can't help feeling that Delhi have the most balanced lineup, however, and I expect them to be the team to beat this year.
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