The Feroz Shah Kotla will host its first Indian Premier League game of the new season, with the Delhi Daredevils looking to give their home crowd plenty to cheer about when they play the Kings XI Punjab. With both teams making decent starts in IPL 2017, the team combinations will be key to picking up a win in IPL 2017 Match 15.
The Delhi Daredevils put on a batting masterclass against the Rising Pune Supergiant in their last match, with Sanju Samson scoring the first century of IPL 2017.
Now, that is the kind of innings that DD will want to see from Samson quite frequently, but what that knock would have also done – coupled with the strong form of Rishabh Pant – is give confidence to this Delhi Daredevils batting lineup.
The DD batsmen have the penchant of throwing their wickets away, with potential rather than performance being the talking point more often than not.
To turn that potential to performance, consistency is the key and it will be up to Samson, Pant, Karun Nair, Sam Billings and the rest to show this batting lineup can take the Delhi Daredevils all the way in IPL 2017.
Add Shreyas Iyer to the mix, and that potential and promise grows even further.
Iyer missed DD's first two matches due to chicken pox, but the batsman is available now for selection and barring any late fitness problems, should find a place in the playing XI at the expense of Aditya Tare, who has not been able to make the most of his opportunities at the top.
That should be the only change in the playing XI for the Delhi Daredevils, with Corey Anderson likely to keep his place, after coming in for Carlos Brathwaite in the last game.
If DD stick to a similar playing XI, it would also mean another game on the sidelines for the likes of Mohammed Shami, Kagiso Rabada and Jayant Yadav.
After two wins in a row in Indore, the Kings XI Punjab were brought back to earth by KKR at the Eden Gardens, and just what Glenn Maxwell's team is made of will be known on Saturday.
It is never easy to bounce back from such a heavy defeat, but if Kings XI play the kind of cricket that got them those first two wins, they will be competitive against the Delhi Daredevils.
Kings XI could make a few changes in their bowling lineup, depending on how the pitch is. With the Kotla providing decent assistance for the pacers in the recent past, KXIP might stick with the pace foursome of Ishant Sharma, Mohit Sharma, Sandeep Sharma and Varun Aaron, although T Natarajan will hope to get a look-in at some point.
Confirmed playing XI:
Delhi Daredevils: Shreyas Iyer, Sam Billings, Sanju Samson, Rishabh Pant, Karun Nair, Corey Anderson, Chris Morris, Pat Cummins, Amit Mishra, Shahbaz Nadeem, Zaheer Khan.
Kings XI Punjab: Manan Vohra, Hashim Amla, Eoin Morgan, Glenn Maxwell, David Miller, Wriddhiman Saha, Axar Patel, Mohit Sharma, Sandeep Sharma, Varun Aaron, KC Cariappa.
