Ajit Agarkar, the former India fast bowler, seems to be mighty impressed by the way his old bowling partner and Delhi Daredevils captain Zaheer Khan has been performing in this season. Zaheer Khan has taken 5 wickets in two matches as opposed to the 10 wickets, he took in 12 matches last season despite being absent from the entire domestic season.
“The start has been good. Having not played any cricket throughout the season. He must have put up a lot of work in the last couple of months. It is still early days, said Agarkar, who is currently spending his time as a cricket analyst for ESPNcricinfo.
The words of praise, however, weren’t sugar coated; Agarkar made sure to point out that situation worked in his favour in the last couple of matches and Zak needs to be prepared for the bigger challenges as the season moves forward.
“The conditions sometimes got in his favour. DD was defending 200 once. He bowled well on a good Pune pitch. The pitch held up a little bit against RCB in Bangalore.”
Agarkar also commented on the leadership style of Zaheer Khan calling him the catalyst of the unit who bind everything together.
“If you put a string of victories together early on, it might make his job easier as the tournament goes on. His leadership has been really good for Delhi and he holds the team really well.”
DD have a good time so far with one win in two matches. Their opening game against Royal Challengers Bangalore ended in a loss as they failed to chase an achievable target of 158 batting second. Zaheer Khan led the bowling attack with a great performance from his side, taking 2/31 in his four-over spell. However, a batting failure meant Zaheer & Co had to end on the losing side.
The Delhi franchise, however, made a roaring comeback in the next game where they pummelled an in-form looking Rising Pune Supergiant side. Powered by Sanju Samson’s maiden IPL century, Delhi racked up an intimidating 205/4 in 20 overs.
The bowling attack once again showed its effectiveness by bundling out the opposition for just 108 overs. Zaheer Khan (3/20) and Amit Mishra (3/11) ended up as the top wicket takers in the match.
After an impressive start to the tournament, Delhi would be hoping to maintain the form and create an impact this season. DD happens to be one of those teams who has never been taken seriously as the top contenders to win the title. Maybe they will make the 10th season their most memorable by changing the perception.