Delhi Capitals head coach Hemang Badani says his side are still piecing together how to deal with the surfaces served up at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, a venue where they have managed just one win from five in this year’s IPL.
“We don’t have any control over the surfaces,” Badani reminded reporters after Tuesday’s defeat to Chennai Super Kings. “As much as one would like to think that we are in control of the surface that we want to play on, there is a clear mandate from the BCCI that they look after the surfaces and they are the ones who ensure that there’s no local side that gets benefit out of the surfaces. So you play what is presented to you. And yes, it’s been a bit of an up-and-down curve for us to understand what we are going to get at Delhi, which is our home.”
The Capitals’ struggles in the capital have been stark. A fortnight ago they piled up 264 yet needed a final-ball six to win; 48 hours later they were bowled out for 75 on a pitch with swing and bounce. This week they ran into a drier, slower strip that brought CSK’s spin pair Akeal Hosein and Noor Ahmad straight into the game. Badani did not complain, but he did highlight how hard it is for any team to settle.
“Seventy [75] one game, one game was 265. Again, this was a surface which spun,” he said. “But there’s little control that any side has on the surface. It’s not about us. I think the whole comp itself is quite neutral that way. Every side has to find a way to win those games. But yeah, ideally you want to have some consistency.”
Finch left scratching his head
Aaron Finch, analysing on television, admitted he was puzzled by the decision to bat first after winning the toss, calling a few of Delhi’s choices “head scratching”. The former Australia captain felt the sluggish track under lights might have eased slightly and would have suited a chase. Badani did not address that point directly, though his post-match comments pointed to broader issues.
Kuldeep’s tough stretch
A sticky surface should have played to Kuldeep Yadav’s strengths, yet the left-arm wrist-spinner missed his lengths and disappeared for 34 in three overs. His tournament figures now read seven wickets in 30 overs at more than ten an over – chastening numbers for a bowler who bossed the World Cup only last year.
Badani, however, kept faith. “They are people who have played cricket at the highest level,” he said of Kuldeep and fellow spinner-all-rounder Axar Patel. “Double World Cup winner. You work with them, you give them faith. They have faith in themselves in the sense that they have played the game, they have figured out the ways and means of going through the grind, ways and means of struggles and how you come back. They’ve done it all.”
Axar’s returns with the ball – 4-0-24-0 against CSK – were one bright spot, yet his batting numbers (33 runs in seven innings) remain a concern. Badani trusts the runs will return. “And I have faith that he [Axar] will come good. He’s had a wonderful time with the ball today: four overs, 24 runs. I would take it on any given day. And it’s more the case of… If we had put on about 20-odd runs, Sanju [Samson] would not have been able to pace the innings the way he did.”
What next?
Delhi have three away fixtures before returning to the Feroz Shah Kotla. By then they hope to have untangled the “up-and-down curve” of their own patch. Whether that is possible when the surfaces are effectively neutral remains to be seen, but Badani is adamant work behind the scenes continues.
“We’re still hunting for that consistency,” he concluded, “and once we crack how to adapt faster than the opposition, the points should follow.”
