Delhi Daredevils suffered the ultimate brain-fade moment when they benched Morne Morkel, their leading wicket-taker in IPL 2012 in their second qualifier against Chennai Super Kings.
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The Delhi Daredevils had a glorious run in the 2012 edition of the Indian Premier League. In their 16 league games, they won 11 and lost only five to top the league table. In one remarkable match against Rajasthan Royals, Delhi Daredevils needed to defend 14 in two overs. Morne Morkel conceded just three runs and Delhi Daredevils won the match by one run. Their remarkable run gave fans hope that DD would finally snap their title jinx in the Indian Premier League.
This was the first edition in which the new playoff format in IPL was initiated. The team that finished on top would have two chances of reaching the final. The playoff format came into existence because of the experience of the Daredevils side in IPL 2008 and 2009. In the edition in South Africa, DD topped the table only to lose to Deccan Chargers in the semi-final. The unfairness of a team finishing on top being knocked out after one game meant these changes.
DD lost the first qualifier to Kolkata Knight Riders. However, they had a second chance to reach the final. They would be facing Chennai Super Kings in the second match at the MA Chidambaram stadium. However, the match would be remembered for one epic botch-up in the team composition of the Sehwag’s side.
Heading into the match, Irfan Pathan suffered an injury that disrupted their team composition totally. The No.7 slot was now a conundrum for Daredevils. If they played a specialist bowler, they would have had a long tail. In order to maintain the balance of six batsmen, four bowlers and an allrounder, Daredevils got Andre Russell in. But, this posed a problem when it came to the overseas situation.
Ross Taylor, Morne Morkel, Mahela Jayawardene and David Warner were all in the DD side and all were in decent form. To get Russell in, one of the four had to make way. In a shocking development, they decided to bench Morne Morkel. The South African pacer had taken 25 wickets and was instrumental in many of Delhi Daredevils’ win in IPL 2012.
The signs were ominous. In one match where Morne Morkel did not play, Delhi Daredevils conceded over 200 runs against Royal Challengers Bangalore and they lost. Apart from dropping Morkel, Delhi Daredevils had one major goof-up.
The Delhi Daredevils team had the services of Ajit Agarkar and Shahbaz Nadeem in their line-up. Nadeem was a proven left-arm spinner while Agarkar was a veteran. However, Agarkar’s economy rate that season was 9.34. Delhi Daredevils did not pick either Nadeem or Agarkar. They chose Sunny Gupta.
Sunny Gupta was an offspinner who hailed from Jharkhand. He moved to Tamil Nadu at a young age, studying in Loyola College and also moving up the ranks in the domestic circuit in Tamil Nadu. The offspinner is best remembered for his Ranji Trophy exploits against Haryana where he made 37 and had five wickets in the match but they fell short.
Chennai Super Kings were asked to bat. Asking Gupta to play his first match in a playoff was a bit too much. To complicate matters, he was given the first over. Gupta, clearly nervous, was hit all over the park by Murali Vijay. Gupta ended with figures of 0/45 from three overs. The fifth bowler’s slot exposed Delhi Daredevils’ weakness. Virender Sehwag went for 23 runs. Varun Aaron, who was incidentally Gupta’s room-mate during their days in the MRF Academy, went for 63 runs in his four overs.
Delhi Daredevils conceded 222 runs by Chennai Super Kings. It was the highest total of the season and Delhi Daredevils were never in the hunt. They lost by a massive margin and their title hopes evaporated.
“It was difficult to pick four foreigners, but we backed Russell to do the job. But yes we missed Morne Morkel,” Sehwag admitted after the match. However, the loss would hurt Delhi Daredevils for a long time. From 2012 till 2018, they did not reach the knockouts. For some time, they did not win a single knock-out game.
When Delhi Daredevils changed to Delhi Capitals, their fortunes changed. Delhi Capitals reached the second qualifier after beating Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Eliminator. It was their first win in a playoff match. In IPL 2020, Delhi Capitals reached the final but were beaten by Mumbai Indians.
But, the fatal mistake of IPL 2012 will haunt Delhi Daredevils until they do not win the tournament. Players like Warner, Russell, Jayawardene, Taylor, Kevin Pietersen and Morkel would have made any side envious. But, in one moment of madness, they botched it up.
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