One-third of this tournament is done and dusted. We are gearing up for the 20th match which is a battle between the North and the South. The Delhi Capitals face the Sunrisers Hyderabad. It is a game between the two mid-table teams. It is the last game of the season that will be played at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on doubleheader Sunday. This match is going to be played at night and dew might be a factor.
Sunrisers Hyderabad has just started gaining some momentum. They managed to win their first game of the season against the Punjab Kings on Wednesday. They are coming after a break, fresh into this game will want to win all the games from now on. Kane Williamson’s addition has made their batting look much stable. Their bowling has done well and the spinners have really capitalized and made use of the Chennai wicket.
Delhi Capitals look comfortable at the moment. Everything seems to be going in the right direction for them. They have lost just one game. Shikhar Dhawan is in the form of his life. Their bowling has looked solid. Amit Mishra picked up 4 wickets in the previous game against the defending champions. Delhi played their last game on Tuesday. They have had a good break and are coming into this game with a fresh mind.
Shikhar Dhawan will like to continue the good run
Kane Williamson’s addition has stabilized the Sunrisers middle order. They are looking like a formidable side now. Jhonny Bairstow has had good outings. He has anchored the innings well. The lower order is still filled with young Indian batters, who on their day can take the bowlers to task. David Warner will want to play a big knock as he has been getting the starts but is unable to convert them.
Delhi Capitals have also batted well. They have the orange cap holder Shikhar Dhawan opening the batting. Steve Smith showed us why he is an all-format player. He batted sensibly on a slow-turning Chennai wicket. Lalit Yadav has looked promising. It was an all-round batting display from the DC against the Mumbai Indians. They will certainly hope that all their batsman can keep up the good form.
Spinners will be the key
The SRH bowling lineup is one of a kind. Although T Natarajan has been ruled out of the tournament, they still have enough firepower. The Chepauk pitch has always been a turner and their spinners are well aware of the fact. Rashid Khan has looked better than ever. Batsmen are unable to pick him and he will be the key against the Delhi Capitals. They will also be making use of their slow bowlers like Vijay Shankar and Abhishek Sharma.
Delhi Capitals bowled superbly against the defending champions. They managed to restrict them to a mediocre 137. Amit Mishra was the standout bowler picking 4 wickets including the important wicket of Rohit Sharma. Avesh Khan has also been one player to watch out for. he picked up 2 wickets in the 2 overs that he bowled. Kagiso Rabada was good as always. The slower ball has been doing the trick for the fast bowlers on this pitch.
Head to Head: Punjab Kings vs Sunrisers Hyderabad
Played: 18
SRH won: 11
DC won: 7
Sunrisers Hyderabad certainly has the upper hand when it comes to the history between the teams. The history between the teams will not affect the game much as they both look to continue their winning momentum.
Weather and Pitch Report
The weather in Chennai is expected to be clear for a smooth game of cricket. The temperature is expected to be around 34 degrees with 63% humidity. The pitch will provide assistance to the spinners. In the last few games played at this venue chasing teams have won the game. The reason for this might be the presence of dew in the latter half of the innings.
Team News
Delhi Capitals: They are not going to change a winning combination and will field the same 11.
Sunrisers Hyderabad: T Natarajan has been ruled out of the IPL. They are expected to play the same playing 11.
Squads
Sunrisers Hyderabad: David Warner (c), Kane Williamson, Jonny Bairstow (wk), Manish Pandey, Sreevats Goswami (wk), Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Priyam Garg, Vijay Shankar, Abhishek Sharma, Abdul Samad, Virat Singh, Jason Holder, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Shahbaz Nadeem, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, T. Natarajan, Sandeep Sharma, Khaleel Ahmed, Siddarth Kaul, Basil Thampi, Jagadeesha Suchith, Kedar Jadhav, Mujeeb-ur-Rahman, Jason Roy.
Delhi Capitals: Rishabh Pant (c & wk), Shikhar Dhawan, Prithvi Shaw, Ajinkya Rahane, Shimron Hetmyer, Marcus Stoinis, Chris Woakes, R Ashwin, Amit Mishra, Lalit Yadav, Pravin Dubey, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Ishant Sharma, Avesh Khan, Steve Smith, Umesh Yadav, Ripal Patel, Vishnu Vinod, Lukman Meriwala, M Siddarth, Tom Curran, Sam Billings