We preview Thursday’s IPL showdown that will see the Delhi Daredevils host the Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Feroz Shah Kotla.
Top takes on bottom as the Delhi Daredevils – who prop up the table – welcome the high-flying Sunrisers Hyderabad to the Feroz Shah Kotla.
Can the hosts put together a bit of a run toward the latter end of the season or will it be business as usual for the Orange Army? Let’s have a look:
DD vs SRH | Thursday 10 May | Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi | 16:30
To Win Match
Delhi Daredevils 27/20
Tie 35/1
Sunrisers Hyderabad 62/100
Delhi Daredevils
Right then, it’s do or die time for the Delhi Daredevils. Failure to win on Thursday against the best bowling attack in the competition will end any hopes they have of reaching the play-offs. They’ve simply not been able to make up ground after a poor start to the tournament under ex-skipper Gautam Gambhir.
Since then, however, Shreyas Iyer has done a magnificent job with the captaincy. Of course, as a new skipper, there are always going to be a few mistakes. Bowling Dan Christian in the final over against Thursday’s opposition this past Saturday was one such error. The Aussie all-rounder was unable to defend 14 off the last over as the Sunrisers squeaked home.
They do now have the opportunity to put right the errors of Saturday’s fixture. Iyer may well elect to bat first should he be successful at the toss. The Feroz Shah Kotla has seen a number of high scores this season, and the only two times the Sunrisers have lost this season saw them chasing scores of 180+.
Key to their chances will be how well their top and middle order can stand up to the Sunrisers’ attack. Iyer, Risbah Pant and Prithvi Shaw have been standouts this season but more is required of Glenn Maxwell, who has so far failed to deliver with the bat.
Sunrisers Hyderabad
The Sunrisers have been phenomenal this season and look very much like they could go all the way. Their ability to restrict opposition batsmen to ludicrously low totals has seen them win eight of their 10 matches in 2018.
While we can go on about their bowling attack endlessly, I feel it’s important to look at their very obvious Achilles heel – their batting. Only Kane Williamson has performed this term. He’s the only SRH batter in the tournament’s top 25 run scorers.
Shikhar Dhawan, Yusuf Pathan and Manish Pandey have been there and thereabouts without really delivering on a consistent basis. This is something that will need to be remedied as they move toward a play-off spot. Alex Hales has come in recently and done well at the top of the order and should retain his place alongside Dhawan despite a poor showing against RCB last time out.
The bowlers will once again be required to deliver something special against a potentially dangerous DD top order. They’ll also need to keep in mind that the Delhi stadium has seen plenty of runs so far in 2018. The Sunrisers could well find themselves in trouble if they’re not at their miserly best.
Verdict: Delhi Daredevils 27/20
The Daredevils were tantalisingly close to overcoming the Sunrisers last Saturday. That was also the last match they played in this tournament so they’d have been hard at work preparing for Thursday’s piece. Back them to right the wrongs of Saturday’s performance and grab the win they so desperately require to keep their slim playoff hopes alive.
