IPL 10, Match 18, DD v KKR - Delhi Daredevils Predicted XI

The Delhi Daredevils camp is a happy camp at the moment. They won their first home game of the season in their previous encounter against the Kings XI Punjab. Now, they find themselves up against the in-form Kolkata Knight Riders. KKR boasts of a very settled side on the paper. They have lost just one match this season and have been on a winning spree in the recent times.

Having said that, it is important to note that KKR won their last two matches at home. It will worth watching to see how they fare up in the match against the Delhi Daredevils at Delhi. Away games are always tricky ones to deal with. The track at Delhi will be assisting spinners and hence the KKR camp finds themselves in a happy state. They have some quality spin bowlers in their ranks.

On the other hand, Delhi have two veteran spinners in their armoury as well. However, when it comes to batting, they have a very inexperienced side on paper. Whether the young brigade will be able to counter the spin attack from KKR or not, remains to be under a dark cloud. There will be no selection conundrums for the Knight Riders as they are likely to field the same playing eleven. The Daredevils, on the other hand, need to rethink their strategies for the match.

Here is the Delhi Daredevils Predicted XI for the match:

Openers (Sam Billings, Shreyas Iyer)

Sam Billings started off the season on a peaking note. With scores of 24 and 25 in the first two matches, he showed he has the ability to take on the attack in the first few overs. In the last game against the Kings XI Punjab, the English cricketer went a shade better and converted his good start to a fifty. A match winning fifty seals the opening berth for him in this game as well.

While Billings has been the fixed opener in the lineup, there has been a concern over his partner at the other end. The Delhi camp sprung a surprise when they promoted Sanju Samson to open the innings in the previous match. Samson is undoubtedly a class player but he recently scored a ton batting in the middle order. Hence, the think tank might get back to the old ways by having Shreyas Iyer at the top order with Billings.

Middle Order (Sanju Samson, Rishabh Pant, Karun Nair)

The middle order of the Daredevils team looks very inexperienced on paper. But make no mistake, they are highly talented and proven match-winners on their day. Sanju Samson has already had his moment of brilliance in the tournament when he smashed the first ton of IPL 2017. He is in sublime form and is mostly like to bat at number three in the match.

Rishabh Pant has been the talk of the town in the Indian domestic circuit in the last 6 months. The lad has already made giant strides in the cricket world. In the recent domestic season, he scored a triple hundred too. Talking about his current form, he has a fifty to his name this season. He scored a gutsy fifty against the Royal Challengers Bangalore in a losing cause.

Karun Nair has been the only batsman from the Delhi Daredevils lineup who is yet to get runs on board. Nair is a very talented batsman and his heroics are well known. He just needs to stay at the crease and get a good score to get back his confidence. He is likely to retain his place in the lineup.

All-rounders (Chris Morris, Corey Anderson)

Chris Morris is the superstar of the team at the moment. Be it with the ball or with the bat – the South African is at his very best in every aspect this season. He already has lit up the stands with his fireworks in the late middle order. If need be, the team can play him as the floater in the side. Also, he has been very efficient with the new ball. He has managed to scalp early wickets in the innings on most occasions.

Corey Anderson came into his groove in the previous match. A lot of questions were raised over his current form with the bat. He had started off very cautiously in the previous match and that had only strengthened the speculations against his form. However, the big Kiwi struck a match defining cameo against the Kings XI Punjab. With the ball, he got the big fish in the form of David Miller to cap off a perfect outing for him.

Bowlers (Amit Mishra, Shahbaz Nadeem, Pat Cummins, Zaheer Khan)

The spin and the pace bowling departments are equally matched for the Delhi Daredevils. They have a very balanced bowling attack that has a perfect blend of spin and pace bowling. With a left arm pacer, a right arm speedtser, a leggie and a left arm spinner – one would back themselves to unsettle any opposition.

Zaheer Khan has been leading from the front with the new ball. Zaheer already has a 3 wicket haul to his name this season. However, he went for quite some runs in the previous match. With figures of 0/38, Zaheer looked a tad off colour on the day.

Pat Cummins has been a premier pace bowler in the recent times. He bowled with guile and precision in the matches leading up to this particular game. With speeds clocking close to 150 kmph, Cummins has troubled the batsmen in the opposition lineup.

Amit Mishra has been using his experience to optimum use this season. Mishra has been largely successful with the ball and has been able to choke the run flow in the middle overs. Shahbaz Nadeem has often bowled in the powerplay and has given early breakthroughs to the team. Both spinners have been highly economical and that is something that the camp would be expecting from them against the Knight Riders.