Dubai,26 Oct (ISF Team): The Dubai International Stadium is set to host the return fixture between Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and Delhi Capitals (DC) on Tuesday, October 27.
The last time the two sides clashed, SRH clinched a 15-run win. Since then, the two sides have had contrasting campaigns.
The by-gone weekend saw the top three teams in the table drop a couple of points each. Now, the deciding week opens up for the teams at the bottom half of the table.
Both SRH and DC are coming off defeats and will look to make amends at this crucial juncture of the tournament.
David Warner’s men are currently languishing at seventh place, with only 8 points in the 11 games played thus far, and a solitary win in the last five games.
Meanwhile, the Shreyas Iyer-led team is one foot in the playoffs, with 14 points in 11 games. But Ricky Ponting and Co. would be scratching their heads after losing two back-to-back games. DC is just a couple of points away from sealing a berth in the Playoffs.
During the post-match conference, DC’s premium pacer Kagiso Rabada repeatedly suggested that IPL is a game of ‘Quality vs. Quality’, and defeat is part and parcel of the same.
However, Rabada shrugged off any possibility of complacency creeping into the squad, given the healthy position they’re currently in.
The key clash in the game should be between the quality pace attack of DC against the power-packed SRH batting unit.
Rabada, along with his South African colleague, Anrich Nortje, has wreaked havoc in the opposition batting camp. Rookie Tushar Deshpande has also impressed with his composure.
Iyer has successfully laid the spin trap with the likes of Axar Patel and Ravichandran Ashwin at his disposal.
VVS Laxman and Co. will be wary of the fact that the team cannot afford another batting collapse, similar to the one against KXIP. SRH lost their last seven wickets within a span of 14 runs last week.
The time has come for Warner and Jonny Bairstow to step up and finish fixtures for their side. Therefore, the contest on Tuesday is meant to be a nail-biting affair aiming for two important points on the table.
Predicted XI:
SRH:
David Warner (c), Jonny Bairstow (wk), Manish Pandey, Vijay Shankar, Priyam Garg, Abdul Samad, Jason Holder, Rashid Khan, Khaleel Ahmed, Sandeep Sharma, T Natarajan
DC:
Shikhar Dhawan, Ajinkya Rahane, Shreyas Iyer (c), Rishabh Pant (wk), Marcus Stoinis, Shimron Hetmyer, Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kagiso Rabada, Tushar Deshpande, Anrich Nortje
0 Comments