IPL 10, Match 40, DD v SRH – Delhi Daredevils Predicted XI

Delhi Daredevils currently occupy the bottom position in the points table and have just 6 games to turn their campaign around. Nothing seems to be working for DD this year as they were battered by Kings XI Punjab by 10 wickets in their encounter on Sunday at Mohali. Delhi were skittled out for a paltry score of 67, which was the second lowest team total in IPL 2017.

Sunrisers Hyderabad will come into this game with extreme confidence. They gave the table toppers KKR a mauling on Sunday night as the Warner-led team won their home game by a huge margin of 48 runs. SRH is gathering momentum at the right time and will be tough to beat in this kind of form.

Daredevils need to sit down and introspect. They have failed collectively as a team. Though their bowling has been par but the batting has been awful. They relied a lot on their young Indian talents but they have failed to deliver on a consistent basis.

With six games still left to be played, DD can make it to the playoffs, provided they win at least 5 of their remaining games. There will be wholesale changes to the XI. Here is the best possible XI which DD may choose for their home game against SRH:

Openers (Sanju Samson and Karun Nair)

Sanju Samson has been the most consistent scorer for DD though, he flopped in the last game against the Kings XI Punjab. The opener has scored 289 runs in 8 matches which includes a hundred. For DD to do well with the bat it is essential for the openers to give them a good start only then can the likes of Iyer, Pant and others following them can take them to a score of substance.

Karun Nair has been under immense pressure that is not just the pressure of expectation but it rose substantially after his triple century. He would want to keep everything aside and focus on the task at hand leading the Delhi Daredevils in their 9th game while they just have 2 wins in their bag. Captaincy is a new experience for Nair but he should enjoy it given the team has nothing to lose in the tournament now.

Middle Order (Shreyas Iyer, Marlon Samuels and Rishabh Pant)

Someone of Samuels’ experience and class can do the job for the Daredevils. He has been a proven performer for the 2-time World Champions West Indies and there is no reason why he cannot do it in the IPL. Shreyas Iyer can give him company in the middle order along with Rishabh Pant. The former hasn’t been scoring runs consistently after the first few games where he got going.

A lot was expected of the keeper-batsman due to his Ranji Trophy exploits in the lead up to the tournament, but Pant hasn’t lived up to the expectations. He has time in hand to prove himself at the big stage. Iyer is going through a decent year and should take the responsibility of scoring runs whenever his side needs them.

All-rounders (Angelo Mathews and Chris Morris)

Delhi needs quality in the batting department and there is no better alternative than the Sri Lankan captain. Mathews has had remarkable success in international limited-overs cricket in the last four years. His experience can be a big boost for the struggling DD. He can also lend captaincy tips to young Nair in the absence of Zaheer Khan. Morris will be a good bet at No. 6 or 7. Barring the last two games, the South African has done exceedingly well for DD this year.

Bowlers (Kagiso Rabada, Amit Mishra, Shahbaz Nadeem and Mohammed Shami)

Delhi Daredevils have one of the best bowling attacks going around in the tournament. But their batting has failed to give them runs to play with. Rabada’s skiddy nature and raw pace has edged out fellow teammate Pat Cummins, though the latter has done well this year.

But the format of the IPL is such that few players are forced to sit down to give balance to a side. Rabada, Morris and Shami will form a great three-man pace attack capable of running through sides in favourable conditions. DD have two quality spinners in Nadeem and Mishra to cut down the run-scoring in the middle overs. With Zaheer missing out, DD have a lot of bench strength to overcome the loss. It will all depend on how well they execute themselves on the field.