This IPL has been a season of surprises in terms of which teams are paying well. Gujarat Titans, Rajasthan Royals, Lucknow Super Giants and Sunrisers Hyderabad have bossed over the traditional powerhouses like Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings.
Similar has been the story of Delhi Capitals, who have a good team on paper and were expected to dominate but have been inconsistent at best with four wins from eight matches. Not that their play-off chances are over, but the road is becoming tougher every day.
On Sunday, when Delhi face Lucknow in Mumbai, Rishabh Pant’s team will know that they cannot afford too many slip-ups. They would draw confidence from their win in the last match, against the Kolkata Knight Riders, but it would be more important to translate that confidence into performance on the field.
Much of their batting hope revolves around the start that they expect David Warner and Prithvi Shaw to provide. Beyond the openers, their batting has been a sorry tale of inconsistency. Pant has been unimpressive, Lalit Yadav inconsistent. Rovman Powell has batted well in the last two games and Mitchell Marsh can be dangerous if he gets going.
Rajasthan Royals pay tribute to their “First Royal” Shane Warne, who passed away in Thailand on March 4, before their match against Mumbai Indians at the DY Patil Stadium on Saturday. The first IPL final, between the Royals and Chennai Super Kings, was played at the same venue on June 1, 2008, and captain Warne had led them to victory in the inaugural edition of the tournament. Twitter
With Lucknow, who have back-to-back wins to boast, having their bowlers in rhythm, the Delhi batters will have to be on their toes. The likes of Jason Holder, Dushmantha Chameera, Mohsin Khan and Avesh Khan have hunted well in a pack.
Lucknow’s strength has been in their fine army of all-rounders. Holder, Krunal Pandya, Marcus Stoinis and Deepak Hooda add depth to the line-up.
Lucknow’s biggest strength, however, lies in their powerful opening pair of captain KL Rahul and wicketkeeper-batsman Quinton de Kock. If these two find their shots and stay long enough, Delhi will perhaps have no chance. But it is also a fact that the Lucknow middle-order, like Delhi, too lacks form.
The Delhi bowlers, like their batters, too need to have a bigger impact. Mustafizur Rahman has been good, Khaleel Ahmed has impressed and Kuldeep Yadav a revelation. But somehow they have lacked the killer punch. Will they find it on Sunday?
