IPL Match Prediction: Power-packed Gujarat poised to snap Delhi’s three-match winning run
THE RESURGENT DELHI DAREDEVILS will lock horns against the mighty Gujarat Lions tomorrow at the Feroz Shah Kotla in the capital. The hosts, owing to a rare hat-trick of wins are sitting at the no.3 position on the points table. On the other hand, the visitors are looking pretty at the no.2 slot.
The hosts after suffering their only defeat in their opening game against KKR have played some inspirational cricket to get to back to winning ways. While many experts believed that the Delhi team would once again crumble under pressure, mentor Rahul Dravid and coach Paddy Upton have quietly resurrected their campaign.
Meanwhile, the debutants too have tasted only one loss till now and exude all the confidence with their power-packed line-up. Given their impressive start, quite a few former cricketers are talking about their possible impact in the playoffs.
DD will enter the contest knowing that their batting has finally started to fire with the likes of Quinton De Kock, JP Duminy,
Sanju Samson and Karun Nair have all come to the party. On the bowling front too, the impact of Amit Mishra has been a huge plus. Going into the match against the Lions, Delhi would do well to play Imran Tahir and expect their leggies to pose problems for the Gujarat batsmen.
On the other hand, the Lions have been extremely fortunate that their power-hitters Aaron Finch, Brendon McCullum, Suresh Raina have all come to the party. Barbadian Dwayne Smith too made his presence felt in the previous game. With match winning all-rounders in Ravindra Jadeja and Dwayne Bravo, the Lions thrive on the liberty of batting deep. Furthermore, their bowlers too have done a reasonable job. Veteran Pravin Tambe though has been a standout.
The conditions in Delhi will surely aid the slower bowlers and that would present both teams the opportunity of using their variations well. As far as the spinners are concerned, DD will surely have the edge.
The hosts have won their previous two games at home and successfully defended their total of 164 against the Mumbai Indians. That said, the Lions like to chase down totals and it can get extremely tough for DD to stop the pyrotechnics of marquee GL batsmen. The conditions are likely to remain the same at the Kotla and it will be interesting to see what the captains to at the toss.
Delhi are unlikely to make any changes to their winning combination and the visitors too will have little hesitation in sticking to their tried and tested 11. That said, there is an injury scare for Finch and if the opener sits out, all-rounder James Faulkner might walk in to the team.
Both teams will enter the contest with all the confidence to keep their winning momentum going. The Daredevils will be keen on sticking to their basics and executing their plans. However, given the strength of the Gujarat batting, all-round depth and confidence, the debutants might just leave the capital with two more crucial points and take their overall tally to 10.
