Overview
Both Sunrisers Hyderabad and Delhi Capitals have had disastrous starts to their IPL campaigns, so much so midway through the season, both have very little margin for error left. Delhi lost their first five before a morale-boosting win against Kolkata Knight Riders, while Hyderabad have lost, won and lost games in blocks of two. With the leading sides having already banked eight points, Delhi and Hyderabad – along with Kolkata – are the teams most in danger of being cut adrift at the bottom.
Hyderabad need much more from their marquee players. Harry Brook has made one sparkling century and done little else, while Aiden Markram and Rahul Tripathi haven’t found any consistency either. Mayank Agarwal has one of the worst strike-rates in the tournament, and Washington Sundar has done nothing with bat or ball. Marco Jansen, Umran Malik and T Natarajan have all been very expensive, and Mayank Markande, the leg-spinner, has been their standout bowler.
Delhi’s bowling unit has been much better, though neither Kuldeep Yadav nor Anrich Nortje has taken big hauls so far. The batting has been dreadful. David Warner has four half-centuries, at a modest strike-rate, and Axar Patel is the only other batter to cross 100 runs. Prithvi Shaw and Mitchell Marsh have 53 runs from 10 combined innings, and the likes of Yash Dhull and Sarfaraz Khan haven’t been able to cash in on their chances. In what could be a high-scoring game in the baking summer heat, Delhi desperately need their batters to put on a show.
Venue and time
Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad. 7:30 PM IST
Ishant and Dre Russ – A Tale of Two Veterans
Expected conditions and toss
The temperature in Hyderabad is expected to be around 29C, and dew could be a factor later in the evening because of the high humidity. This is one of the venues where teams batting first have won more matches this season (2 of 3), though the dew factor usually influences teams to bowl on winning the toss.
Head-to-Head
Hyderabad hold an 11-10 edge in the rivalry, and have won 3 of their 5 contests in Hyderabad.
Possible XIs and Impact Player Watch
Abhishek Sharma will open with Brook, and Hyderabad’s Impact player options are Natarajan and Mayank Dagar when they’re bowling. If they’re batting second, it could be Tripathi that is used as a sub. Ishant Sharma made a splendid return to the Delhi XI, and should keep his place is they bowl first. It could be all change with the batting if Shaw is dropped, and Phil Salt moved up the order. Aman Khan could be their Impact sub.
Sunrisers Hyderabad: Abhishek Sharma, Harry Brook, Rahul Tripathi, Aiden Markram (C), Mayank Agarwal, Heinrich Klaasen (WK), Washington Sundar, Marco Jansen, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mayank Markande, Umran Malik.
Delhi Capitals: David Warner (C), Phil Salt (WK), Mitchell Marsh, Manish Pandey, Sarfaraz Khan, Axar Patel, Lalit Yadav, Kuldeep Yadav, Anrich Nortje, Mukesh Kumar, Ishant Sharma.
Warner’s 57 Helps Delhi to Maiden Win in Low-Scoring Thriller