Venue: Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Rajkot | Date & Time: 3 May at 1830 hr (GST)
BIG PICTURE
It took an extraordinary spell of bowling and some questionable shot selections to stop the Gujarat Lions from winning yet another game in this season’s IPL. While Kings XI Punjab would be delighted in their efforts against the table-toppers, the Murali Vijay led side has done little to derail the Lions’ campaign.
With six wins out of eight matches, Gujarat sit pretty at the top of the table and will most likely be the first team to make it to the play-offs. However, they’d do well to not get complacent hereon as qualification scenarios are bound to get tight towards the latter half of the tournament.
In Suresh Raina, the Lions have found a street smart captain, who unlike MS Dhoni isn’t living in denial about Chennai Superkings being a thing of the past. Raina has built the team of his choice with a strong foreign core of explosive batsmen and effective all-rounders, and has efficiently filled the gaps with Indian talent – especially in the bowling department.
Gujarat’s opponents, Delhi Daredevils too, have been a revelation after a disappointing past couple of seasons. Under the guidance of Rahul Dravid, the Daredevils have resurrected themselves in an à la Rajasthan Royals fashion. The team has shown its mettle with four wins in the last five games, interestingly with the loss coming at the hands of Gujarat Lions.
It’ll be fascinating to discover whether the Daredevils allow their 1-run loss against the Lions in Delhi last week, to weigh them down. Yes, the Lions were considerably better on the given day and the narrow margin is only because of some manic batting by Chris Morris towards the end of the game – but Delhi have bounced back strongly, defeating Kolkata Knight Riders comprehensively on Saturday.
As we head into the contest on Tuesday, it is going to be a battle between two of the sharpest T20 brains sitting in the backdrop – Brad Hodge versus Rahul Dravid; both exceptional coaches who share a good working relationship with the captains of their respective outfits.
KEY BATTLES
Chris Morris vs Gujarat openers: The tall pacer from South Africa, Morris has the best economy rate amongst bowlers who have played five games or more this season. Delhi will depend a lot on him to not just get the early breakthroughs but also contain the explosive opening duo of Brendon McCullum and Dwayne Smith.
Amit Mishra vs Gujarat middle-order: Kings XI Punjab’s Axar Patel was somewhat able to expose the frailties of the Gujarat Lions middle-order and Amit Mishra would be licking his fingers to have a go at the likes of Dinesh Karthik, Ravindra Jadeja and Ishan Kishan. Considering that Mishra seems to be at the top of his game currently, and armed with a variety of deliveries, he can be a handful if the deck assists spin.
WATCH OUT FOR
Shreyas Iyer’s return to form will help Delhi immensely
Shreyas Iyer: The most outstanding performer of the recently concluded Indian domestic season hasn’t quite been able to get things going in this year’s IPL. Unlike last year, where he caught everyone’s attention, he’s not been himself this time around – with just 22 runs in five innings at an average of 4.40. He’s too good a player to remain quiet for very long, and if he chooses the Gujarat game to come back into form, the Lions won’t be roaring anymore.
EXPECTED XIs
Gujarat seems to be a settled side and it is unlikely that the management will tamper with the line-up that has been getting them results consistently
Dwayne Smith, Brendon McCullum, Suresh Raina, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Dwayne Bravo, James Faulkner, Pravin Kumar, Dhawal Kulkarni, Shivil Kaushik
Although Delhi won their last game comfortably, there’s little utility that is being derived out of Rishabh Pant in the playing XI. One can expect Delhi to bolster their bowling by playing the additional spinner in Pawan Negi or Jayant Yadav.
Quinton de Kock (wk), Shreyas Iyer, Sanju Samson, Karun Nair, Sam Billings, Chris Morris, Carlos Brathwaite, Pawan Negi/Jayant Yadav, Amit Mishra, Zaheer Khan, Mohammed Shami
STRAIGHT FROM TWITTER
दिल्ली आ कर हिन्दी ना सीखी? Watch @sambillings & @QuinnyDeKock69 get a crash course from local #DilliBoy Rishabhhttps://t.co/UvAvNJvnnE
— Delhi Daredevils (@DelhiDaredevils) May 2, 2016
