What

Match 42 of VIVO IPL 2018 will be a top against bottom clash; after meeting four days ago, the bottom-placed Delhi Daredevils will come up against the top-placed Sunrisers Hyderabad yet again.

The Daredevils have three wins from ten matches and are now at desperate station; if they lose one more match, even the ‘mathematical probability of them making the playoffs’ will evaporate. Sunrisers Hyderabad are nearly through to the playoffs, and they would have shifted their target to finishing the league season among the top two teams.

In the previous meeting between these two teams, the Daredevils posted a competitive total on a difficult surface in Hyderabad, but allowed the Sunrisers to get out of jail. The Daredevils had 28 to defend off the final two overs, yet came up on the wrong side of the result; they allowed the hosts to score the runs with one ball to spare.

These are difficult times for the Daredevils, and the time has come for the senior management to take some more difficult decisions. The overseas batsmen haven’t really contributed much; in 16 innings between them, the three overseas batsmen DD have used – Glenn Maxwell, Colin Munro and Jason Roy – have contributed 293 runs, dismissed for single-digit scores on nine occasions. The persistence with Maxwell, the dropping of Amit Mishra early in the competition, and picking an extra pacer on a spinner-friendly track are among the questionable tactical and selection calls.

Bowlers win matches; the performance of Sunrisers Hyderabad this season is testimony to that. Sunrisers are the only team with a 100% record while defending totals. At the same time, it isn’t as if their batsmen aren’t firing; their captain been in fine form, while the rest have made timely useful contributions.

The Daredevils, battling survival, couldn’t have asked for a more favourable schedule; starting with this one, they play their last four matches at home. Will they be able to convert home advantage to points?

When

10 May 2018, 2000Hrs (IST)

Where

Feroz Shah Kotla Ground, Delhi

Impact Batsmen

The Delhi Daredevils’ two men-in-form are their captain Shreyas Iyer and Rishabh Pant; between them, they’ve contributed close to 750 runs. Then add Prithvi Shaw into the mix; the teenager’s stroke-play has impressed many a pundits and has been refreshing to watch.

Kane Williamson has led from the front for Sunrisers; barring two single-digit scores, he has made runs on every other visit to the crease. The SRH captain has illustrated that it isn’t all about bludgeoning the ball, but one can also succeed by batting responsibly and batting the traditionally correct way.

Impact Bowlers

DD will look towards Trent Boult and Amit Mishra to do the bulk of the damage with the ball; Boult has more wickets than the Daredevils’ second and third highest wicket-takers combined. Mishra has come back strongly after a poor start to the season; in his last four matches, the leg-spinner has picked up 6 wickets and has conceded runs at exactly a run-a-ball.

The Sunrisers, at the moment, have a dream bowling line-up; each individual in the bowling attack has understood his role in the team, and every one of the bowlers appears to have figured out how to pick wickets.

Team Head to Head

Overall: Matches – 11, Delhi Daredevils won – 4, Sunrisers Hyderabad won – 7.

What Next

For Delhi Daredevils: Home Fixture Vs. Royal Challengers Bangalore, May 12.

For Sunrisers Hyderabad: Away Fixture Vs. Chennai Super Kings, May 13.