The Sunrisers Hyderabad have played enterprising cricket in IPL 2016, and rightly sit on top of the IPL 2016 points table as a result. The Delhi Daredevils have also played some outstanding cricket, with several of their young stars showcasing their talent under the tutelage of Zaheer Khan and Rahul Dravid. So, when these two teams meet at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad on Thursday, for the first time this season, expect a match filled with batting and bowling skills of the highest order.
SRH, wonderfully led by David Warner, are currently on a four-match winning run, which has seen them take the top spot in the table. One more win in their remaining four matches should be enough to guarantee their place in the playoffs. But then, SRH will have more than just a playoff spot in mind, having gone through such a winning run, and their primary focus will be to keep a hold of that pole position.
To do that, they need to beat the Delhi Daredevils, who, after showing some excellent form, have gone a little cold in their last two games. However, the Daredevils are coming off a five-day break, having last played on Saturday, and that break might do them good.
"It was a much needed break for us," DD batsman JP Duminy was quoted as saying by IPL's official website. "We have come past the halfway mark in the tournament and it is nice to get a small getaway, refresh and comeback stronger. "We have played nine games on the bounce and it is good to recharge the batteries and come out strong."
To do that, the Delhi Daredevils need to be able to find a way to solve the SRH bowling puzzle. Led by Ashish Nehra, and ably supported by Mustafizur Rahman, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Barinder Sran, the Sunrisers Hyderabad bowling has been quite outstanding, and tackling those four seamers will be key if the Daredevils are to snap a two-match losing streak.
"Their strength lies in their pace attack and we have to play them accordingly," Duminy added. "It doesn't mean that we cannot negate their pace bowling in any way, we have the line-up that can do it. It is just about putting up a good performance on the day."
But then, the Sunrisers are not just about their bowlers. In Warner, they have one of the best batsmen of IPL 2016, while the returns of Kane Williamson and Yuvraj Singh to the lineup have further bolstered their batting. The batsmen did not click in SRH's last game, against RPS, but on their day, they can be as deadly as any team in the league, and the DD bowlers, led by Zaheer, Amit Mishra and Imran Tahir, will need to be at their absolute best.
Where to Watch Live
SRH vs DD is scheduled for an 8 p.m. IST (3.30 p.m. BST, 10.30 a.m. EY) start. Below are the TV and live stream online options.
India: TV: Sony Six,Sony Six HD, Sony ESPN, Sony ESPN HD and Sony Max. Live Streaming: Hotstar and Starsports.com.
UK and Ireland: TV: Sky Sports 2. Live Streaming: Watch Sky Sports and Sky Go.
Middle East and North Africa: TV: OSN Sports Cricket. Live Streaming: OSN Cricket Play.
South Africa and Sub Saharan Africa: TV: Supersport. Live Streaming: Supersport Live Video.
USA: TV: ESPN. Live streaming: Watch ESPN.
Canada: TV: Sportsnet. Live Streaming: Watch Sportsnet.
International (ROW): Cricketgateway.
