Delhi Daredevils Captain Zaheer Khan and Coach Rahul Dravid during a training session at Eden Garden in Kolkata. Pic/PTI
Delhi Daredevils are leaving no stone unturned in their bid to rein in the barrage of losses and start a winning spree — and that was evident with the amount of time coach Rahul Dravid and captain Zaheer Khan on Thursday spent inspecting the Eden Gardens pitch where they take on Kolkata Knight Riders a day later.
The pair strolled around the 22-yard strip for close to 45 minutes engaging in a long discussion.
Delhi bank on their star-studded bowling arsenal comprising the likes of Pat Cummins, Kagiso Rabada, Chris Morris, Mohammed Shami and Zaheer. In the spin department there is Amit Mishra.
Delhi have just won two games out of six and Zaheer made it clear ahead of their outing against in-form Kolkata Knight Riders that the next nine days where they play five matches will decide their fate.
The Eden strip, since being relaid, has assisted the pacers with bounce and carry. On Thursday, a fair amount of grass was seen on the strip with Dravid later talking to curator Sujan Mukherjee for a while.
“I should congratulate Sourav (Ganguly) on that (the pitch). He has done a fantastic job since taking control. We are upbeat. The wicket is looking really good,” said Zaheer.
The trio of Nathan Coulter-Nile, Chris Woakes and Colin de Grandhomme scalped three wickets each in the last match played here as KKR sent Royal Challengers Bangalore packing for IPL’s lowest score of 49.
Morris is the second-highest wicket taker so far in the competition with 12 to his name from six games. Cummins has also picked up nine.
South African pace sensation Rabada took the wicket of Parthiv Patel in his very first match of the season in spectacular fashion. The speedster yorked the southpaw hitting the base of the leg stump.
On Friday, Delhi would look to making the most of the wicket and bowl first if they win the toss, a pattern most captains have followed this season.