The Sunrisers Hyderabad were still gasping for breath, even as they got past the Kings XI Punjab by 5 runs in a thriller, where Manan Vohra gave them a run for their money, scoring a swashbuckling 95 off 50 on a surface where no other batsman seemed too comfortable. The SRH, thus, ended their two-match losing streak and sort of resurrected their campaign.
The Delhi Daredevils, on the other hand, have won two out of their four games, but have the best NRR among all Teams, which means they’ve won by huge margins when they’ve won and lost close encounters when they’ve lost.
Today’s game, between the Sunrisers Hyderabad and the Delhi Daredevils, is going to be a matchup between the bowlers, considering the strong bowling line-ups and the fact that they’ve performed to their potential so far.
Five Player Battles to look forward to, in today’s game:
1. Shikhar Dhawan vs Zaheer Khan.
Dhawan has the lowest strike-rate among openers who have played at least 50 balls in the tournament. His strike-rate has been 112 so far. Dhawan so far has managed just 42 runs off the 43 balls he has faced from Zaheer Khan and has been dismissed four times. While Dhawan will look to improve his strike-rate and his mediocre record against the former India pace spearhead, Zaheer has hardly looked like a retired pacer and has been bowling brilliantly so far, and will look to continue troubling the Hyderabad southpaw. Promises to be a great contest.
2. Sanju Samson vs Rashid Khan / Mohammed Nabi.
While Sanju Samson has had a great start to his campaign, scoring 125 against pace bowlers at a strike rate of 176, he has struggled against spin and has so far managed to score just 48 of the 47 deliveries he has faced against spinners. Warner must surely have done his homework and in all probability will try to attack Samson early in the innings with spin. With both Afghans Rashid and Nabi in great touch, it’ll be a great contest to watch.
3. Yuvraj Singh vs Amit Mishra.
Yuvraj Singh, the flamboyant Indian middle-order batsman, had a great start to the tournament, mesmerising fans with an astounding 62 of 27 in the very first game of the IPL against RCB. After that, though, Yuvi’s bat has gone quiet. Yuvi, as he is fondly known, will desperately try to make amends in this game and try to get among runs. His glaring weaknesses against spin known, Amit Mishra, the veteran Indian leg-spinner, will surely try to capitalise on them and unsettle Yuvi early in the innings.
4. Rishabh Pant vs Bhuvaneshwar Kumar.
The worst Bhuvaneshwar Kumar has bowled in this tournament was against the RCB when he conceded 27 off 4 overs, taking two wickets. In every other game, he has conceded less than 21 runs and taken wickets. Bhuvaneshwar’s impeccable accuracy in the death overs has been commendable and has won SRH a couple of games. Rishabh Pant, on the other hand, has backed his reputation of being a hard hitter off the pace as well as spin with inspiring performances. With both of them in tremendous touch, a mouth-watering contest lies ahead.
5. David Warner vs Pat Cummins.
Pat Cummings, the immaculate Australian pacer, swings it both ways early in the innings at shrilling pace and can cause the batsmen trouble early on in the innings. David Warner, another Australian, has had a tremendous start to the tournament and is well placed to play yet another impactful knock. Against his Australian counterpart, though, Warner will have to be wary as since either Zaheer or Morris will maintain steady pressure from the other end, Cummins will have the license to go for the kill and will hence go flat-out. Warner is no slouch either, against pace and thus this is one of the most exciting contests.
