What

The Gujarat Lions and Delhi Daredevils will clash in Match 50 of VIVO IPL 2017.

Both teams cannot make the playoffs; even if the Gujarat Lions win both their remaining matches, they can only get to 12 points, while if DD win their remaining three fixtures, they can still only get to 14 points which will not make the cut.

While the Gujarat Lions will be without the services of the injured Brendon McCullum, the Delhi Daredevils will miss two of their key players in this contest; Kagiso Rabada and Chris Morris have parted ways with the DD squad to answer their national team’s commitments. Angelo Mathews will also not be available to the Daredevils; the Sri Lankan captain has joined up with his national team in preparation for their forthcoming international assignment.

When

10 May 2017, 2000 Hrs IST

Where

Green Park Stadium, Kanpur

The Protagonists

Among the Gujarat Lions batsmen, one of Suresh Raina or Aaron Finch will need to get a big score. Sanju Samson – Delhi Daredevils’ highest run-getter this season – will be expected to make a significant addition to add to his aggregate of 374 runs.

On the bowling front, keep an eye on the Gujarat Lions’ Basil Thampi, who has been impressive in his debut season. Among the Delhi Daredevils bowlers, keep an eye on Zaheer Khan and Mohammed Shami – for their fitness and their rhythm.

Match within the Match

Sanju Samson, Rishabh Pant and Ishan Kishan have all come through the ranks and will at some point of time in the future compete for one place in the Indian team – that of wicketkeeper-batsman. The last time these two teams met, Pant walked away with bragging rights with a swashbuckling innings of 97. Which of the three lads will produce the match-defining performance in this match?

Head to Head

Overall: Matches played – 3, Gujarat Lions Won – 1, Delhi Daredevils Won – 2

The last time these two teams met – in Match 42, two youngsters – Sanju Samson and Rishabh Pant – powered the Delhi Daredevils to a 7-wicket win with some fearless batting. In pursuit of 209, Samson scored 61, and stitched together a 143-run stand with Pant, who made a career-best 97 from 43 balls. The Daredevils cruised past the target in the 18th over.

Trivia

The Gujarat Lions are undefeated in the two matches they have played at the Green Park Stadium in Kanpur. In the two matches they played in the 2016 season, they defeated KKR and MI – both in run-chases. The Lions won both those games by identical margins of 6 wickets.

The Delhi Daredevils have lost 5 of their 6 away fixtures this season; their only away win this season was against Rising Pune Supergiant at Pune.

The Gujarat Lions have not won a match when they’ve batted first this season; they’ve batted first on six occasions and have ended up on the losing side on each occasion.

What Next

For Gujarat Lions: Return Fixture (Home) Vs. Sunrisers Hyderabad, May 13 (4pm)

For Delhi Daredevils: Return Fixture (Home) Vs. Rising Pune Supergiant, May 12