IPL 2017, Match 15, DD v KXIP: Delhi Daredevils - Predicted XI

Delhi Daredevils has been one of the unluckiest sides in the tournament so far despite having some big names of international cricket since the very first season. They have failed to gel as an unit at the crucial junctures of the tournament which had cost them but they will surely look for a turnaround this time around with some exciting names in their squad.

They will be over the moon after their comprehensive victory against Rising Pune Supergiant by 97 runs. They literally toyed with the Pune bowling line up and made batting look ridiculously easy. Sanju Samson made his way to his maiden century and Chris Morris looked in ominous touch as he remained unbeaten on 38 of a mere 9 deliveries.

Sri Lankan captain Angelo Mathews has joined his franchise and is available for selection. The position of Aditya Tare up the order also looks in doubt given his indifferent form and ShreyasIyer is expected to replace him in the XI. The youngster was seen training in the nets after missing the 1^stweek of IPL due to Chicken Pox.

So with a few hours to go for the 2^nd match of the Super Saturday double-header to commence, here we have a look at the Predicted XI of Delhi Daredevils.

Openers (Shreyas Iyer, Sam Billings)

Iyer missed the opening two games due to chicken pox but is expected to be back for this match. He was seen training in the nets and especially after the lacklustre efforts from Aditya Tare it might be the ideal replacement for Delhi squad. He has been a swashbuckling batsman up the order for DD and will look to replicate his past heroics in the 2^nd encounter of the day.

On the other hand, Sam Billings has looked in good touch but hasn’t been able to convert his starts into big ones. He struck some delightful blows to get Delhi get off to a good start but couldn’t continue his good work and was out in the 20’s on both occasions.

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

Kerala lad Sanju Samson looked in ominous touch the other day against the Rising Pune Supergiant and scored his maiden IPL ton. He blasted the bowlers all around the park and kept some special treatment for leg-spinner Imran Tahir. His innings proved his class with the bat and showed that the batsman can hit the big shots when needed. The right-handed batsman knocked away the criticisms that the Delhi side could not score big in the Indian Premier League with his scintillating innings.

Rishabh Pant has been the star performer for Delhi as far as their batting is concerned this year. the batsman played a good innings in the first match but unfortunately, his team ended up on the losing side. In the match against Rising Pune Supergiant also the left-handed batsman got off to a good start as he scored 31 runs off just 22 balls hitting two sixes. He has an unlucky end to his innings as he went back to the pavilion as a result of a runout.

Karun Nair has not been in good form in the 10th season of the Indian Premier League and would like to improve on the same against the Kings XI Punjab. He has got his opportunities but has failed to live up to the expectations much to the disappointment of the supporters. But there is a staunch feeling that the franchise would like to give him another opportunity to prove himself before dropping him from the side.

Lower middle order (Corey Anderson, Chris Morris)

Corey Anderson did not have much to do in the last match as he remained unbeaten on the crease at the score of 2 coming into bat in the lower order. But the batsman has the ability to strike the ball big and would be looking to contribute more to the team next time around against the Kings XI Punjab.

Chris Morris played a blistering innings with the bat as he scored 38 runs off just 9 balls hitting the bowlers all round the park. The South African’s late cameo helped the Delhi franchise reach the 200 mark in no time. His innings included 4 boundaries and three biggies as the all-rounder showed his calibre with the bat. He only got to bowl two overs as far as his bowling is concerned and was a bit expensive as he went for 19 runs. But he also managed to pick up an important wicket in the two overs he bowled. So there is no doubt about the fact that Morris will retain his place in the team against the Kings XI Punjab.

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

Pat Cummins bowled excellently for the Delhi outfit against the Rising Pune Supergiant as he picked up two important wickets giving away just 24 runs. Cummins’ pace would be a big factor for the Kings XI Punjab to deal with as the bowler can trouble a lot of batsmen with the same.

Zaheer Khan single-handedly took down the Rising Pune Supergiant openers which show he still has that spark left in him. The left handed bowler bowled in the right areas and was highly economical too as he went for just 20 runs in his 3 overs. Apart from the two openers the Delhi skipper picked up the wicket of Deepak Chahar lower down the order which took his tally to 3.

Amit Mishra was the pick of the bowlers for Delhi as he bowled at an exceptional economy rate of 3.66 and picked up three wickets restricting the Rising Pune Supergiant franchise to a low score of 108. His three wickets included the prized wicket of MS Dhoni who is known as one of the best finishers of the game. Mishra would be an obvious pick for the Delhi franchise for his wonderful performance last time around.

Last but not the least Shahbaz Nadeem who has been a consistent performer for the Delhi team would retain his place in the team without a doubt. Shahbaz gave away just 23 runs in his 4 overs and also picked up a wicket which marks another good outing for the bowler. He has been difficult for the batsmen to face and bowled 10 dot balls against the Rising Pune Supergiant which is quite a thing to be proud of.