After pulling off a victory, when they really should have not, the Sunrisers Hyderabad will want to continue the momentum when they host the Delhi Daredevils in an IPL 2016 match on Wednesday. The Sunrisers can virtually seal a playoff place with a victory in Hyderabad, while the Daredevils, after two successive defeats, will want to get back on that winning track again.
Staring at defeat after posting just 137 on the board in Visakhapatnam against RPS, the SRH bowlers came to the fore, yet again, to defend the total, giving David Warner's men another impressive win. It is to that bowling attack that Warner will look to again to help the Sunrisers confirm their place in the top four of IPL 2016.
Moreover, having won four in a row, there really seems to be no need to alter the playing XI, with the Sunrisers bowling, with three left-armers – Ashish Nehra, Mustafizur Rahman and Barinder Sran -- and Bhuvneshwar Kumar in tow, looking as potent as any in IPL 2016.
The batting flopped in their last game, and while the bowlers bailed them out, Warner and co. need to step up against the Delhi Daredevils at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium. The bulk of their runs have been scored by the openers – Warner and Shikhar Dhawan – and while that is never a bad thing, the SRH batting lineup does look a lot stronger now with Kane Williamson and Yuvraj Singh recovering from their injuries.
After his opening knock in IPL 2016, Williamson has struggled a little bit, but the New Zealander gives so much stability to SRH's batting order, that Eoin Morgan is likely to have to wait a while longer to get another crack in the middle. Yuvraj Singh has looked decent on return, smashing a few out of the ground, and what the Hyderabad fans will want to see is a real IPL special from the left-hander.
The Daredevils are coming off two successive losses, and they will want to get back to winning ways as quickly as possible. There has been a little too much tinkering with the playing XI for anyone's liking, and DD might be best served to stick to a combination and back it for a couple of games.
However, getting that right playing XI is not easy, considering the plethora of overseas options available to Rahul Dravid, Paddy Upton and Zaheer Khan.
Quinton de Kock looks certain to play, considering his importance at the top and his wicketkeeping abilities – even is Sanju Samson can don the gloves. Chris Morris has been one of DD's best bowlers, and as he showed against the Gujarat Lions, he can wield a mean bat as well. Sam Billings has been preferred over JP Duminy in the last couple of matches, but the South African might sneak back in, while Carlos Brathwaite will hope for an opportunity as well.
If the pitch aids the slower bowlers, Imran Tahir should be a definite inclusion in the playing XI, while Pawan Negi, the most expensive Indian player at the IPL 2016 Player Auction, will hope to come in for Shahbaz Nadeem.
Expected playing XI: Sunrisers Hyderabad: David Warner (C), Shikhar Dhawan, Kane Williamson, Yuvraj Singh, Moises Henriques, Deepak Hooda, Naman Ojha, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ashish Nehra, Barinder Sran, Mustafizur Rahman.
Delhi Daredevils: Quinton de Kock, Rishabh Pant, Sanju Samson, Karun Nair, JP Duminy, Chris Morris, Pawan Negi, Zaheer Khan, Amit Mishra, Mohammed Shami, Imran Tahir.
