In a tournament where scores around or above 200 are commonplace, Delhi Capitals have won their first two games by restricting their opposition to 141 and 162. Having assembled a bowling attack blessed with quality in both pace and spin departments, the franchise hasn’t yet felt the absence of left-arm legend Mitchell Starc, who is yet to receive the go-ahead from Cricket Australia to join his IPL franchise.
With skipper Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav helming the spin department, they may not need much outside guidance as they go about their work. The pace section, even without Starc, is well loaded with the likes of Lungi Ngidi, Mukesh Kumar and T Natarajan and bowling coach Munaf Patel has quality at his disposal. So much so that tall Kiwi pacer Kyle Jamieson and Auqib Nabi, coming off a historic and triumphant Ranji Trophy season, are still waiting for a look in. Sri Lankan seamer Dushmantha Chameera is also an option in the DC squad.
Ahead of their third game of the IPL season – as they aim for a hat-trick of wins – Munaf runs the rule over the pace bowlers he has got to work with at the franchise.
Ngidi’s variations are his strength
Munaf says the South African sticks to his strengths, which are his variations – slower deliveries and yorkers. “He has played in the IPL before, for other franchises, and is easy to handle,” the former India pacer said. “He is used to South African pitches, but it’s good that he has recently played in India at the T20 World Cup.”
He has four wickets from two games and rarely lets his team down. He was arguably the reason for Lucknow Super Giants being dismissed for a modest total in their first game. Munaf said Ngidi is aware of his limitations and doesn’t go outside his game. “It’s no good trying to bowl at 150 kph and getting hit all over the place.”