RAIPUR: Nothing much has gone right for Delhi Daredevils this season. They have lost seven of their eight games and at the halfway stage in the competition they are as good as out for the fray.
Right from the beginning they have found themselves at the bottom of the table, which is a big comedown for a team that was considered a strong contender for a place in the semifinals.
Despite being down and out though, the Mahela Jayawardene-led team are hopeful of a revival as they temporarily shift their base to Raipur. On Sunday, they will first take on another bottom-placed team Pune Warriors at the new Veer Narayan stadium on the outskirts of the Chattishgarh capital, and then face Kolkata Knight Riders on Wednesday.
The performance of DD has been so pathetic that they have had to hire the services of cricket legend Viv Richards as advisor/motivator midway through the tournament.
It did temporarily to lift the morale of the team, helping them to their only victory over Mumbai Indians in Delhi. It was the game where another batting great Virender Sehwag came good, playing a stupendous knock and that win surely has given the team a big boost.
With eight games still in hand they can yet hope to make a strong finish in the tournament and on the way spoil the aspirations of team or two.
Jayawardene is still confident of the team making it to the playoffs, as they have a mathematical chance of advancing to the next round. "Raipur should prove lucky for Delhi Daredevils," DD advisor Viv Richards said.
On Sunday, DD run into a team that is in disarray and has won just two of their eight matches. Pune Warriors have been so flummoxed that they have used three different captains and are still struggling to find the right combination.
Spectacles for Sehwag again?
Wearing spectacles during the first Test against Australia recently had raised a question mark over his hand-eye coordination but Virender Sehwag was again seen wearing the glasses during training session in Raipur.
Doubts were once again raised whether everything is okay with his reflexes.
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