What

Sunrisers Hyderabad will clash with the Delhi Daredevils in Match 21 of VIVO IPL 2017. Heading into this contest, SRH have three wins from five outings, while DD have two wins and as many defeats.

In their most recent outing, SRH held their nerve to defeat Kings XI Punjab in a thriller on Monday night. The match affirmed the notion that SRH have the best well-rounded bowling attack; Bhuvneshwar Kumar got the ball to swerve, collected five wickets and extended his lead at the top of this season’s wicket-taker’s list, while Rashid Khan and Mohammad Nabi proved they were extremely shrewd operators with the ball.

The Delhi Daredevils could have had three wins if only Manish Pandey hadn’t taken the Kolkata Knight Riders over the line in the previous match. Given the composition of their side, the Delhi Daredevils clearly do not want to put the young batsmen through the pressure of run chases and prefer batting first. The Zaheer Khan-led side clearly think with the experience they have in the bowling attack, they are better suited to defending totals.

When

19 April 2017, 2000 Hrs IST

Where

Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium, Hyderabad

The Protagonists

David Warner has been Sunrisers Hyderabad’s top-scorer in four of the team’s five matches this season and is clearly the team’s most influential batsman. Known for his go-after-the-bowler style of batting, Warner showed he has the temperament to adapt; in the previous match, he began slowly on a difficult pitch, but persevered, batted through the twenty overs and forced the pace at the back end of the innings. The Australian clearly backs himself and knows he has what it takes to turn on the heat on the bowlers whenever he wishes to, and therefore will be the most valuable wicket for the opposition.

Sam Billings has made scores of 25, 24, 55 & 21 at the top of the order, and Delhi Daredevils will hope the Englishman can not only get the team off to yet another good start but also convert it to a big one. Rishabh Pant came into the tournament with a reputation, and he has enhanced it further with his four knocks this season; he has batted freely and made a contribution every time he has gone out to bat. The 19-year old has scores of 57, 31, 15 and 38, and has struck more sixes (10) than fours (9) this season; his assault on the experienced Umesh Yadav the other day clearly illustrates that the kid is not influenced by reputation but goes by the ‘see ball hit ball’ principle. There are calls for the teenager to be promoted to open the batting; if the Delhi Daredevils do send him at the top, he should look to make a big score.

Both teams have very balanced bowling attacks. Among the quicks, keep an eye out for Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Zaheer Khan. If the track plays slow like it did on Monday night, the two leggies – Amit Mishra and Rashid Khan – could be a handful.

Match within the match

The DD skipper Zaheer Khan is one of the best when it comes to bowling to left-handers. In this match, he will be up against two of the most-dangerous in the business - David Warner and Yuvraj Singh. Keep an eye on that contest. The one other contest that promises to be exciting is between David Warner and Chris Morris.

Head to Head

Overall: Matches played – 8, Sunrisers Hyderabad Won – 5, Delhi Daredevils – 3

In IPL 2016, the Delhi Daredevils defeated Sunrisers Hyderabad on both occasions in the league season.

Trivia

Sunrisers Hyderabad are the most successful bowling side this season; they have taken 39 wickets in their five matches.

Both Sunrisers Hyderabad & Delhi Daredevils have so far realised 23 wickets from their quick bowlers; while the overall economy rate of the SRH quicks is 8.34, the economy rate of the DD pacers is 7.79.

Delhi Daredevils have been the most incisive while bowling in the powerplay overs; they have picked up 11 wickets in the powerplay overs in their four matches – more than any team has done.

The Delhi Daredevils have an impressive record in matches played on 19 April over the years; they have won 4 matches and lost only one.

What Next

Both teams will be seen in action next on April 22. Sunrisers Hyderabad will head to Pune for their next fixture; they are scheduled to take on Rising Pune Supergiant (4pm IST). Delhi Daredevils meanwhile will head to Mumbai to take on the Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium (8pm IST).