It was Alexander Zverev’s win in the Tokyo Olympics and Daniel Medvedev win in the US Open tennis final that made me feel that just like the youngsters had finally taken hold of men’s tennis from the golden trio of Roger Federer, Rafa Nadal and Novak Djokovic, the younger IPL teams would take over from the regular winners Mumbai and Chennai and put their name on the coveted trophy. Delhi had begun the first half in India in magnificent style and they have been the most improved team over the last three years and their young players led by the irrepressible Rishabh Pant were playing some incredible cricket.

Young DC attack

Their biggest asset was that they were all youngsters looking to create a niche for themselves in the world of cricket. There were no already-established superstars in their team and so nobody was the big daddy there. They were all in the same wavelengths with pretty similar tastes in music, fashion and whatever else that makes the young hearts beat faster. They were in tune with themselves which could be seen when they got off the team bus laughing and having fun and generally looking as if they were out for a hit in the park rather than playing a serious game of cricket. It was so refreshing to see the relaxed air with which they trained and practiced.