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Friday, May 4, 2018

Can Daredevils stay relevant in the race to the playoffs?

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Big Picture

A change in leadership is the natural response for a faltering organisation - in business and in sports. Occasionally, a professional sports team still fails to rally around a new captain for several reasons, the lack of skill being the most influential factor. On other occasions, a team finds success with a new group of players immediately, like Delhi Daredevils under Shreyas Iyer.

Delhi have won two of their last three games after Gautam Gambhir's exclusion. Overall, they have three wins in nine games. Iyer, Rishabh Pant and Prithvi Shaw have sparkled, but there are still too many holes. Glenn Maxwell, Jason Roy and Colin Munro haven't been substantial contributors, and Daredevils still haven't found their best bowling combination.

Sunrisers Hyderabad, on the other hand, have hardly had to bother with the quality of their bowling. They have defended 151, 132 and 118 in their previous three games. The absence of David Warner has discernibly weakened their batting, but it hasn't hampered the efficiency. That they lead the points table without a 180-plus score - the only team not to cross that mark in the IPL this season - can attest to that.

In the news

Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who missed the last two games with a back injury, could return on Saturday. Captain Kane Williamson said "it wasn't a serious injury, but something he did need to allow rest."

Likely XIs

Sunrisers Hyderabad: 1 Shikhar Dhawan, 2 Alex Hales, 3 Kane Williamson (capt), 4 Manish Pandey, 5 Shakib Al Hasan, 6 Yusuf Pathan, 7 Wriddhiman Saha (wk), 8 Rashid Khan, 9 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 10 Sandeep Sharma, 11 Siddarth Kaul

Delhi Daredevils: 1 Prithvi Shaw, 2 Colin Munro/Jason Roy, 3 Shreyas Iyer (capt), 4 Rishabh Pant (wk), 5 Glenn Maxwell, 6 Vijay Shankar, 7 Liam Plunkett, 8 Amit Mishra, 9 Avesh Khan, 10 Trent Boult, 11 Shahbaz Nadeem

Strategy punt

Prithvi Shaw has aced pace so far in this season. He has scored at a strike rate of 181.4 against pace, but just 132 against spinners. Colin Munro too has scored quicker against pace (164.5) than spin (144.2) in T20s since 2015. In that same period, Jason Roy has a strike rate of 152.1 against pace, but 124.9 against spin.

Sunrisers could not only start with spin, but could use slower bowlers in tandem against Daredevils' openers.

Stats that matter

As per the numbers, Sunrisers are the worst batting team in every phase - Powerplay, middle and death overs - of an innings this season. They are also the best bowling team in every phase of an innings.
The average score batting first in day-night games at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium last season was 172. That par score has come down considerably this season, to 134.
Sunrisers have not lost a game defending a total this season, in three games. Daredevils have won just one of five games while chasing a target this season.

Fantasy pick

The Hyderabad surface this season has been quite slow and has taken plenty of turn. That generally means that batting could get gradually harder, which makes the Powerplay the best time to score. Alex Hales is, therefore, a batsman that could score quickly earlier on, earning some valuable fantasy points.

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Thursday, May 3, 2018

Can new leadership spark Daredevils revival?

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Big Picture

One win in six games. A new captain. A squad that has failed, so far, to turn into a team. Delhi Daredevils find themselves in a quite unenviable situation. But, as Shreyas Iyer put it after taking over the team's leadership from Gautam Gambhir, there is still time for the team to make something of this season. "We have eight games in hand. There are lots of us who believe."

That belief needs to be backed up with tactical smartness. Gambhir's resignation, and his poor batting form, suggest he is also out of Daredevils' playing XI - Daredevils could bring in big-hitting New Zealander Colin Munro in his place, especially if Jason Roy is not fit. It gives them an opportunity to tear up their failed early-season templates and apply themselves afresh to the task of finding a way to bring the best out of what is - particularly on the batting front - still an excellent group of players.

Kolkata Knight Riders will try their hardest to prevent this from happening. The visitors have themselves underperformed, even if not to Daredevils' extent, and their 3-3 record doesn't quite reflect how good they have looked when they have won. Given how tight the race for the playoffs is likely to get, Knight Riders will want to string some wins together and gather some steam going into the second half of the league phase.

In the news

Chris Morris is out of the IPL due to a back injury.* Junior Dala was announced as his replacement on the afternoon of the game. Jason Roy (side strain) missed Daredevils' last game against Kings XI Punjab, but given the four-day gap between that match and this one, Daredevils would hope he's fit.

Andre Russell went off the field clutching his right thigh after bowling 1.5 overs against Kings XI, but is expected to be good to go on Friday. With his hamstrings in mind, Knight Riders have looked to lighten Russell's bowling workload this season - he didn't bowl at all in the game before the Kings XI one, against Rajasthan Royals - and it's possible he might play as a pure batsman if he is not 100%.

Likely XIs

Delhi Daredevils: 1 Prithvi Shaw, 2 Colin Munro/Jason Roy, 3 Glenn Maxwell, 4 Shreyas Iyer (capt), 5 Rishabh Pant (wk), 6 Vijay Shankar, 7 Rahul Tewatia, 8 Liam Plunkett, 9 Amit Mishra, 10 Avesh Khan, 11 Trent Boult.

Kolkata Knight Riders: 1 Chris Lynn, 2 Sunil Narine, 3 Robin Uthappa, 4 Nitish Rana, 5 Dinesh Karthik (wk), 6 Andre Russell, 7 Shubman Gill, 8 Tom Curran, 9 Piyush Chawla, 10 Shivam Mavi, 11 Kuldeep Yadav.

Previous meeting

Daredevils found a way to keep both Sunil Narine and Chris Lynn quiet, but had no answers against Andre Russell, whose breathtaking 12-ball 41 powered Knight Riders to 200. Three early wickets meant Daredevils never got going in their chase, and eventually lost by 71 runs.

Strategy punt

Knight Riders (19.1 overs in six matches) have bowled by far the most Powerplay overs of spin of any team this season. It's partly down to circumstances: they have lost key fast bowlers to injury, have been forced to conserve Russell's hamstrings, and also happen to be blessed with an excellent spin attack.

With this in mind, Daredevils could look to unsettle Knight Riders by promoting their best players of spin up the order. At least two out of Rishabh Pant (T20 strike rate of 157.5 against spin since 2015), Colin Munro (142.5) and Glenn Maxwell (151.4) could bat in the top three if Daredevils adopt this strategy.

Stats that matter

Knight Riders have a 13-7 win-loss record against Daredevils, and have won four of the five most recent meetings.
Sunil Narine may well be the IPL's MVP. According to ESPNcricinfo's Smart Stats - ESPNcricinfo's new set of metrics to make sense of numbers in the shortest format - he has saved Knight Riders 34.40 runs with the ball in six games this season, and scored 19.25 runs more than par.
Daredevils have lost more wickets (14) from overs 1 to 6 than any other team this season, while going at the third-worst run rate (8.05). The first thing they will need to sort out under their new captain is whom to bat at the top of the order.
Piyush Chawla is set to play his 200th T20 game.
Chris Lynn found some form against Kings XI Punjab, but his numbers against spin for this season remain poor: 60 runs off 60 balls, three dismissals.
Robin Uthappa has crossed 25 in four of his six innings this season, but hasn't gone beyond 48 yet.

Fantasy picks

KKR's Nitish Rana has made a case for an India call-up with his runs and poise at the crease this season, and he has chipped in with vital wickets too - averaging 33 in six innings, with a strike-rate of 135, while taking four wickets in three innings. Also, he plays for Delhi in domestic cricket and knows the Feroz Shah Kotla very well. All these factors make Rana a smart choice to have in your team.

12.04pm GMT The preview was tweaked to reflect Chris Morris' withdrawal and subsequent replacement

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Wednesday, May 2, 2018

Dala replaces injured Morris at Delhi Daredevils

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Fast bowler Junior Dala has replaced his injured South Africa team-mate Chris Morris at Delhi Daredevils for the rest of IPL 2018. Morris, who was the only overseas player to be retained by Daredevils, for INR 7.1 crore (USD 1 million approx.), has been sidelined with a back injury.

Dala had set a base price of INR 20 lakh (USD 30,000 approx.) but found no takers in the auction in January. Daredevils have now bought him at that price, and this will be his first IPL stint.

Dala made his T20I debut against India in February this year. He impressed with his unique action - he takes off on his right foot in his pre-delivery stride and lands on the right foot again - and skiddy pace. He was the joint-highest wicket-taker in the three-match T20I series at home against India, claiming seven wickets at an economy rate of 9.16.

Dala adds depth to a pace attack that includes Trent Boult, Avesh Khan, Dan Christian, Mohammed Shami, Harshal Patel, Sayan Ghosh and Liam Plunkett, who had replaced the injured Kagiso Rabada.

Last month, Dala was picked by Trinbago Knight Riders in the Caribbean Premier League draft. In all, Dala has played 52 T20s, taking 49 wickets at an economy rate of 8.21.

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Iyer's Daredevils take aim at wounded CSK

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Big Picture

On Friday, Delhi Daredevils did not look like the side that had just one win in six games. They did not look like they have had troubles with their batting line-up this season. They looked like they were a team that was strong not just on paper. It seemed like they were announcing their late but not-too-late arrival.

Shreyas Iyer, Daredevils' new captain was their pillar in the match against Kolkata Knight Riders. He took his bottom-placed side to the highest total of this season as he made the highest score by a captain on debut. He effortlessly took on the pacers and the wristspinners as his ex-captain Gautam Gambhir cheered him on from the dugout. Even his move to drop Gambhir and give Colin Munro and Prithvi Shaw a go as the new opening pair worked wonders.

Daredevils will be flying to Pune to meet Chennai Super Kings, who were most recently handed an eight-wicket thrashing by a refreshed Mumbai Indians.

While Dhoni offered the usual "we were 10-15 short" quote after the loss, their bigger issue was the bowling. They have conceded at an economy of 9.38 after the Powerplay, the worst this season after Royal Challengers Bangalore. They also have the second worst economy rate in the death overs.

So far this season, their batting has bailed them out whenever their bowlers had let them down. Their loss against Mumbai might not have disturbed their place in the table, but they have a lot of contemplating to do on their bowling inefficiencies in just a day's time.

In the news

Deepak Chahar is out of action for at least two weeks following a hamstring injury. Lungi Ngidi, who had flown back to South Africa following the death of his father, has rejoined the squad.

Strategy punt

In the previous game, Mumbai rightly introduced Krunal Pandya in the fifth over to take advantage of Shane Watson's struggle against slow left-arm spinners. In the IPL since 2015, Watson has been dismissed 12 times by slow left-armers and averages just 9.3 against them.

Super Kings could rope in David Willey in place of the out-of-form Sam Billings. Billings has scored just 24 runs in his last four innings and has also shown signs of struggle against spinners, giving away his wicket three times to them. Willey scores at a strike rate of 170.6 in the middle overs and 157.5 in the death overs in T20s since 2015. They could also use his left-arm inswingers to add a new dimension to their pace attack. He has taken 43 wickets at 24.3 in Powerplays while maintaining an economy of 7.4 in the same time period.

Stats that matter

Ravindra Jadeja has had a poor run this season, continuing his trend of declining influence on results in recent IPLs. He has bowled just 10 overs in seven games this season and has picked just one wicket as compared to the 2015 season where he picked 11 wickets in 15 innings. However, it is interesting to note that in CSK's two losses this season, Dhoni had not bowled Jadeja.
Shreyas Iyer will be looking to score his fourth consecutive 50-plus score. Only Virat Kohli (4) and Virender Sehwag (5) have posted more than three consecutive half-centuries in the IPL.
Glenn Maxwell is known to have gone big against CSK in the past. He has 204 runs in four innings and a strike rate of 202 against them.

Fantasy picks

Iyer for his red-hot form. Maxwell would be another pick for his record against CSK. Suresh Raina has been in the thick of the action for CSK this edition, so he would be an automatic pick too.

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Rajasthan Royals Vs Delhi Daredevils Ipl 2018 32nd Match New Delhi Live Scorecard - Ddvrr Live: अजिंक्य रहाणे ने जीता टॉस, राजस्थान पहले करेगी गेंदबाजी

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स्पोर्ट्स डेस्क, अमर उजाला
Updated Wed, 02 May 2018 07:40 PM IST

ख़बर सुनें

दिल्ली की टीम को आठ मैचों में सिर्फ दो जीत मिली है जबकि छह हार झेलनी पड़ी हैं। इसकी वजह से उसकी प्ले ऑफ में पहुंचने की राह और मुश्किल हो गई है। वहीं, राजस्थान रॉयल्स के सात मैचों में तीन जीत और चार हार के साथ छह अंक हैं।

टीमें:

दिल्ली डेयरडेविल्स: कॉलिन मुनरो, पृथ्वी शॉ, श्रेयस अय्यर (कप्तान), ऋषभ पंत, ग्लेन मैक्सवेल, विजय शंकर, शाहबाज नदीम, लियाम प्लंकेट, अमित मिश्रा, आवेश खान और ट्रेंट बोल्ट।

राजस्थान रॉयल्स: अजिंक्य रहाणे (कप्तान), डार्सी शॉर्ट, राहुल त्रिपाठी, संजू सैमसन, बेन स्टोक्स, जोस बटलर, श्रेयस गोपाल, कृष्णप्पा गौतम, जोफ्रा आर्चर, धवल कुलकर्णी, और जयदेव उनाडकट।

राजस्थान रॉयल्स के कप्तान अजिंक्य रहाणे ने बुधवार को आईपीएल 2018 के 32वें मैच में दिल्ली डेयरडेविल्स के खिलाफ टॉस जीतकर पहले गेंदबाजी करने का फैसला किया है। राजस्थान रॉयल्स ने अपनी टीम में दो बदलाव किए हैं। रहाणे ने डार्सी शॉर्ट और श्रेयस गोपाल को इश सोढ़ी व महिपाल लोमरोर की जगह शामिल किया है। वहीं दिल्ली ने भी एक बदलाव करते हुए राहुल तेवटिया की जगह शाहबाज नदीम को शामिल किया है।

दिल्ली की टीम को आठ मैचों में सिर्फ दो जीत मिली है जबकि छह हार झेलनी पड़ी हैं। इसकी वजह से उसकी प्ले ऑफ में पहुंचने की राह और मुश्किल हो गई है। वहीं, राजस्थान रॉयल्स के सात मैचों में तीन जीत और चार हार के साथ छह अंक हैं।

टीमें:

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Tuesday, May 1, 2018

Floundering Daredevils' near last-ditch attempt at home

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Big Picture

We are reaching a stage in the IPL where a defeat can all but eliminate some of the sides. Barring extreme circumstances, with four points from eight matches, Delhi Daredevils, who will be happier coming back home after their defeat in Pune, need to win all their remaining six matches. Or at least five of them. If they do manage to make this match one of those five or six, it will leave their opponents Rajasthan Royals in a similar situation. They still sit at less than 50% success rate, with three wins in seven matches. A win for Royals will put them at No. 4 alongside Kolkata Knight Riders, and make them genuine contenders to make the playoffs. Needless to say, margin for error for either side is minimal.

Daredevils are only just recovering from what turned out to be a mistake: having Gautam Gambhir as captain and opening batsman. The rejigged side after his stepping down looks a bigger threat to the opposition. Royals themselves are benefitting from Jofra Archer's inclusion two matches ago. Both the sides will love a match-winning effort from their big overseas buys. Daredevils' Glenn Maxwell and Royals' Jos Buttler have scored 126 and 120 runs respectively in seven matches, which is not what the sides bargained for.

In the news

Mahipal Lomror played ahead of Shreyas Gopal - who has five wickets this season at a decent economy of only 7.06 - in Royals' last game. It will be interesting to see if they persist with the combination.

Previous meeting

Their last meeting was the first time a side successfully defended a total this IPL. It was a rain-shortened game, and Daredevils failed to chase 71 in six overs.

Likely XIs

Delhi Daredevils: 1 Colin Munro, 2 Prithvi Shaw, 3 Shreyas Iyer (capt), 4 Rishabh Pant (wk), 5 Glenn Maxwell, 6 Vijay Shankar, 7 Rahul Tewatia, 8 Liam Plunkett, 9 Amit Mishra, 10 Avesh Khan, 11 Trent Boult

Rajasthan Royals: 1 Ajinkya Rahane (capt), 2 Rahul Tripathi, 3 Sanju Samson, 4 Ben Stokes, 5 Jos Buttler (wk), 6 Mahipal Lomror, 7 K Gowtham, 8 Jofra Archer, 9 Dhawal Kulkarni, 10 Ish Sodhi, 11 Jaydev Unadkat

Strategy punt

Royals could think of playing two legspinners: Maxwell has had his share of troubles against that variety of bowling, including against Ish Sodhi, who has dismissed him twice in 28 balls for only 31 runs.

Expect Daredevils to hold back spin until they dismiss Ajinkya Rahane, whose strike rate against pace this year has been 117.2 as opposed to 143 against spin.

Stats that matter

Daredevils last beat Royals in 2012, and have lost to them seven times since then
Royals' specialist overseas batsmen have the worst strike rate among all teams this year: 116.4
Amit Mishra has bowled almost exclusively in the middle overs, going at an excellent economy rate of 6.7
Avesh Khan has bowled only seven Powerplay overs so far, but he boasts a good economy rate of 7.1
Jofra Archer comes into the match with a death-overs economy rate of 4.8 in this IPL. He has bowled only four overs in the stage, but in finding a way to score runs off him lies a big challenge for Daredevils

Fantasy pick

Colin Munro looks like he is hitting form after a slow start to the tournament. He has batted 16 and 18 balls in his last two innings; if he goes on to face 30, his strike rate should get you enough points.

Quotes

"We need to win six out of six, which is the only motivation we can take into the remaining games. We are really effective in home games and, if we can keep the team stable, that should serve us well."
Shreyas Iyer, Daredevils' captain, banks on home comforts

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