IPL 2018: Match 22, DD vs KXIP, Preview - Battered Daredevils hope to stall Punjab's surge

Delhi will play their first home game this season at Ferozshah Kotla Stadium.

Published - 22 Apr 2018, 20:18 IST | Updated - 22 Apr 2018, 20:18 IST

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Delhi Daredevils (DD) are finally playing on their home ground after being on the road since the start of the Indian Premier League (IPL) this year. But the homecoming might not turn out to be so good for them as they will be up against the table toppers and the in-form Kings XI Punjab (KXIP). The hosts will feel confident at least as they will have the much-needed crowd support to buck them up. However, it will be interesting to see if the Gayle storm continues to travel around the country or the treat was only for Mohali and Kolkata.

Gautam Gambhir has more questions to address than his counterpart after the hiding they received at the hands of a certain AB de Villiers who just bludgeoned the ball all around the park. It is important for them to start winning quickly now else things will slip out of their hands soon. They are languishing at the bottom of the points table currently with only a solitary victory over Mumbai Indians in their last 5 matches. Its time they find their perfect combination and hit the straps.

No captain will be happier than R Ashwin right now who has the likes of Chris Gayle and KL Rahul opening the innings in such a great form. They’ve been winning them the matches so far at the top of the order. If they fail to deliver some day, the untested middle-order has to come to the party which might be the only concern for the team going ahead in the tournament. Their bowling also has been up to the mark and there is nothing to worry as of now.

Toss: DD won the toss and elected to field first

Kings XI Punjab (Playing XI): Lokesh Rahul(w), Aaron Finch, Mayank Agarwal, Karun Nair, Yuvraj Singh, David Miller, Ravichandran Ashwin(c), Andrew Tye, Barinder Sran, Ankit Rajpoot, Mujeeb Ur Rahman

Delhi Daredevils (Playing XI): Gautam Gambhir(c), Shreyas Iyer, Prithvi Shaw, Rishabh Pant(w), Glenn Maxwell, Daniel Christian, Rahul Tewatia, Liam Plunkett, Amit Mishra, Avesh Khan, Trent Boult

Ashwin: “We aren’t sure to be honest of how the surface will behave. Our first time here and it’s quite tough to decide. Chris Gayle goes out and Aaron Finch will open the batting. David Miller comes in. The big man is a bit sore and it gives Aaron up the order a bit of a chance. Have to see how it goes.”

Gambhir: “We are going to bowl. It won’t change much and I think dew will play a big role later on. We had just a few practise sessions here and aren’t sure of how the surface will play. We have two forced changes – Chris Morris is out iinjured and so is Jason Roy. We have Dan Christian coming in and Liam Plunkett as well.”

Team Combinations

Delhi Daredevils

Delhi Daredevils seriously needs to think about their team combination and we might see some wholesale changes for this game. The likes of Dan Christian and Gurkeerat Mann might come into the contention in place of Chris Morris and Vijay Shankar who have surprisingly not done anything so far. It is time for their skipper Gambhir also to step up and score significantly along with his partner Roy. The bowling also needs a change and Amit Mishra given his familiarity with Kotla surface.

Kings XI Punjab

This team has no problems whatsoever and should go in unchanged again. They have all the guns firing really well and only some last-minute injuries might affect their line-up. Expect for yet another blazing start from KL Rahul and Chris Gayle and even they fail, the likes of Mayank Agarwal and Karun Nair have stepped up nicely. Their bowling has been magnificent as well with the skipper R Ashwin taking it upon himself along with the talented Mujeeb Zadran. Even Andrew Tye is back to his best and should continue bowling in the same vein.

Focus will be on

Jason Roy (Delhi Daredevils)

Jason Roy has once again gone into that zone when he stops scoring runs after shining in one game. He had gone into the similar shell after smacking 180 runs in the ODIs against Australia earlier this year. Delhi needs Roy to fire at any cost as he was the hero for them while chasing the huge total against Mumbai. If he blasts at the top of the order then the in-form Rishabh Pant can also tonk the ball while batting in the middle order.

Yuvraj Singh (Kings XI Punjab)

Yuvraj Singh is under huge pressure of performing with the bat. He has looked jaded so far in last 5 matches and hasn’t done much. The way Punjab’s top order is playing, Yuvi remains untested but a stage will come when he will have to come out to bat in the last few overs. Moreover, his fielding has not been up to the mark and has dropped catches as well. He needs a decent outing soon else the tea management might take a harsh decision to drop him as the tournament progresses.