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As the Delhi Daredevils team bus trickled into the heavily-guarded Cricket Club of India (CCI) premises on Monday evening, it was a glimpse of Virender Sehwag that was most sought for the onlookers. After all the last time Sehwag walked out to bat at the Brabourne Stadium in December last year, he had marked the celebrated return of Test cricket with a T20-style 293 in just 254 balls against the hapless Sri Lankans.
And though the Delhi dasher disappointed the fans with his no-show during the Daredevils's optional practice session, the same group of peoplewho will transform into vociferous Mumbai supporters on Tuesday will not mind if Sehwag's stay at the crease doesn't last too long.
It is not often that Sehwag happens to go unnoticed for too long during any cricket tournament. But most talk regarding the Delhi batting so far this season has revolved around skipper Gautam Gambhir's recurring nightmares with running between the wickets and David Warner's explosive knocks at the top. And Sehwag, who is only one of three Delhi players to have played all 11 games in IPL III alongside Amit Mishra and Dinesh Karthik, has quietly slipped under the radar while being his team's highest run-getter so far with 324 runs. Considering the fact that two of his three half-centuries have come in dismal losses, it's not surprising that the focus hasn't really been on him. But Sehwag will certainly be hoping that he makes his much-awaited impact and along the way ensures a semi-final berth for the Daredevils.
In fact Delhi's biggest bane in IPL III has been the intermittent performances of their established batsmen. While Warner is one of only four centurions in the IPL this season, and the likes of Paul Collingwood, Gambhir and Karthik too have played starring roles on occasions, they have lacked a major contributor.
The onus has more often than not has fallen on the shoulders of leg-spinner Amit Mishra, who hasn't disappointed one bit, with 15 wickets at 19.46. With the Mumbai middle-order too struggling for consistency and largely dependent on in-form skipper Tendulkar, Mishra is most likely to hold the major cards for the visitors.
Up against them though will be a Mumbai outfit, who have five wins in six CCI outings. But Delhi wouldn't mind being the visiting team considering their plight at Ferozeshah Kotla.
"We are desperate for a win to seal a semifinal berth. Our batsmen need to come to the party," said coach Greg Shipperd.
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