Delhi Daredevils find themselves struggling to stay afloat in the competition. They are now languishing at the bottom of the table with a streak of five consecutive defeats. They need to win almost all of their remaining matches to have a go at playoffs. The injury to Zaheer Khan and the possible call for national duty for Chris Morris and Kagiso Rabada in the coming week are going to further hurt their chances. Here are the Match Preview and Predictions as the Sunrisers Hyderabad face the Delhi Daredevils.
But they have got a unique lifeline as they are slated to play five of their remaining six matches at home. Kings XI Punjab mauled the Delhi batting line up and folded them for 67 in their last match.
The defending champions, Sunrisers Hyderabad are peaking just at the right time led by flamboyant David Warner. They are coming off a brilliant win against dangerous Kolkata Knight Riders. David Warner stuck a scintillating ton that had everyone mesmerised by its sheer prowess. Now Sunrisers would have their eyes set on the top two finish.
PITCH
The last two matches played here this season have been high scoring ones. But with the home side playing three matches here in five days, it would be interesting to see if the wicket comes alive. The temperature is expected to hover in late thirties making it a hot and dry evening.
DELHI DAREDEVILS – STRENGTHS
Dilliwallas have one of the most fearsome pace attack with Zaheer Khan,Kagiso Rabada, Pat Cummins and Chris Morris though Zaheer would be unavailable for this match due to injury. Amit Mishra has been one of the most successful leg spinners, regularly taking wickets for his side. Sanju Samson has played some brilliant knocks and has taken over the mantle of Delhi’s batting anchor.
DELHI DAREDEVILS – WEAKNESSES
Their batting is in dumps and with the drubbing they received from Punjab, it would be difficult for the inexperienced and young players to bounce back. Barring Samson, none of the batsmen have shown character to stay at the wicket for long. Rishabh Pant seems to have lost his form after good showing in the initial games. Shreyas Iyer and Karun Nair don’t have a single significant contribution to their credit. The absence of Zaheer Khan due to hamstring injury has made things worse for them and Nair will have to shoulder the responsibility of captaincy.
SUNRISERS HYDERABAD – STRENGTHS
David Warner showed in the last match why he is considered as one of the most destructive batsmen the world has seen. And he hit that ton against an in form KKR bowling attack that recently bowled out the famed batting line up of RCB for just 49 runs. The ease with which he executed those switch hits to render the spinners ineffective was the highlight of his brilliant knock.
Shikhar Dhawan has given him ample support from the other end. Kane Williamson is relishing his part as the finisher and would be another big concern for Daredevils. Bhuvneshwar Kumar has really taken the sheen off the opposition batting attack with important wickets at the miserly economy rate. Rashid Khan is still a mystery for the batsmen as they are still struggling to pick his googlies. Siddharth Kaul and Mohd. Siraj have done their job perfectly.
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SUNRISERS HYDERABAD – WEAKNESSES
The lower middle order comprising of Yuvraj Singh, Naman Ojha and Deepak Hooda haven’t been tested too much. The form of Henriques with the ball has not been satisfactory. Sunrisers’ performance has not been too good in the away matches.
PREDICTED XI
DD – With Zaheer Khan still not unavailable, Nair will lead the side. Marlon Samuels may get to play his first game of this season. Carlos Braithwaite may also get a look in if management decides to play him ahead of Corey Anderson
Sanju Samson, Karun Nair (capt), Marlon Samuels, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (wk), Corey Anderson, Chris Morris, Shahbaz Nadeem, Kagiso Rabada, Amit Mishra, Mohammed Shami
SRH – They are not expected to make any changes to the playing XI.
David Warner (capt), Shikhar Dhawan, Kane Williamson, Moises Henriques, Yuvraj Singh, Naman Ojha (wk), Bipul Sharma, Rashid Khan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Siraj, Siddharth Kaul
HEAD TO HEAD
Overall: Played – 9, SRH – 6, DD – 3.
At Feroz Shah Kotla: Played – 2, SRH – 2, DD – 0.
Sunrisers Hyderabad won the last game played at their home against Daredevils by 15 runs as they put up 191 riding on Kane Williamson’s classy 89.
MATCH PREDICTION
With SRH looking to dismantle KKR from the second position and DD desperate to return to winning ways, this surely would be a closely fought contest. Here’s what we predict
If SRH bats first
1st Innings Score: 180 – 190
SRH wins by 20 – 30 runs.
If DD bats first
1st Innings Score: 160 – 170
SRH wins by 5 wickets.
