The Delhi Daredevils, on Wednesday, showed, playoff chances gone or not, they are still very much in it to win it as far as their remaining games of IPL 2017 are concerned. Just the manner in which the entire DD bench celebrated the thrilling win over the Gujarat Lions showed the Rising Pune Supergiant will have their work cut out if they are to seal their spot in the IPL playoffs on Friday.
DD, after an abysmal show against the Mumbai Indians, cannot finish in the top four anymore, but that hasn't curbed their enthusiasm.
Confirmed lineups and team news
Shreyas Iyer was the lead enthusiast for the Delhi Daredevils in their last game, scoring drool-inducing, stroke-filled 96 to help DD chase down a target of 196.
"This season we have been losing wickets early and for this particular match, I had decided that I am going to bat through the Powerplay overs," Iyer told IPL's official website. "I had set plans for every two overs.
"I was not looking at my score at all. When we started losing more wickets, I had no other option but to stay till the end."
While it hasn't happened often enough and there have been too many collapses for comfort, on quite a few occasions in IPL 2017, the young guns of the Delhi Daredevils have stepped up, playing an innings that makes you sit back happily with the knowledge that the future of Indian cricket is in good hands.
DD will need another one or two such knocks on Friday, because they will be up against an in-form RPS team, in need of a win to qualify for the playoffs.
"The Delhi Daredevils have won the last game and they will be coming hard at us, we know that," RPS batsman Manoj Tiwary said. "We are not going to make any special changes or some other (different) plans for these guys. We will follow our normal procedures before the game.
"We are not going to change too much, the approach and intent of every player will be the same."
The fact that DD have nothing to lose, considering they are already out of the playoffs reckoning, makes them a dangerous opponent, according to Tiwary.
"We know we are going to face a real tough challenge ahead because they have chased a 200-plus score here (at Feroz Shah Kotla) as well," Tiwary added. "We all know that a few of the youngsters are playing really well. Rishabh (Pant) plays fearlessly and Sanju (Samson) as well.
"So when you have players who don't have anything to lose, when they play, they play in a very aggressive manner, with positive intent. We have seen the results of what happens when they play like that."
RPS will hope the mercurial DD batting lineup has an off day.
Where to watch live
DD vs RPS is scheduled for an 8pm IST (3.30pm BST) start. Live Streaming and TV Information is below.
India: TV: Sony ESPN, Sony ESPN HD (Tamil, Telugu, Bengali), Sony Max (Hindi), Sony Six, Sony Six HD (English). Live Streaming: Hotstar.
UK: TV: Sky Sports 3. Live Streaming: Watch Sky Sports.
USA: TV: Willow TV. Live Streaming: Willow TV Online.
Middle East: TV: OSN Sports Cricket. Live Streaming: OSN Play.
South Africa: TV: SuperSport Two. Live Streaming: SuperSport Live Video.
International: Live Streaming: Cricketgateway.
