IPL 2016, DD vs RPS Match 33 Preview: Will the Supergiants rise above the Daredevils?

The Delhi Daredevils marched past the Gujarat Lions, beating them by 8 wickets in their own backyard. U-19 World Cup star Rishabh Pant took the attack against the Gujarat bowlers and hit them to all parts of the ground. Pant scored a blistering 69 of just 40 deliveries with his wide range of shots and fearless approach to the new ball. The Daredevils have now won 5 times in 7 matches played and are just a few victories ahead of confirming a spot in the playoffs.

The latest player to join the injury list, Steve Smith will no longer be a part of IPL 2016. The Rising Pune Supergiants have now lost Kevin Pietersen to hamstring, Faf du Plessis to a broken finger and Mitchell Marsh to an abdomen injury. The only thing that is rising for the Supergiants are the number of injuries in their team and they will have to take swift measures to rebuild their squad. The signings of Usman Khawaja and George Bailey will come as a relief for the Supergiants as both of them are proven quality talents.

The Daredevils have understood the way the Kotla pitch behaves and have played to their strengths. Team chasing will have an advantage and pace their innings accordingly.

Match Date and Time: 5 May 2016, 2000 hrs ISTMatch Venue: Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium, Delhi.

Weather:

Temperature: Max 36°C, Min 31°CHumidity: Max 29%Wind: 4 km per hour

Pitch Report: Par-score 165. Decent batting track. Batsmen will have to be cautious at the start as the seamers will get some movement with the new ball.

In-Depth Analysis:

The Rising Pune Supergiants will try out the combination of Ajinkya Rahane and the Australian Usman Khawaja for the opening wicket. Both Khawaja and Rahane are great timers of the cricket ball and it will be exciting if they can compliment each other well. A good start is necessary for the Supergiants and we are not talking about getting 60 in 10 overs, rather an aggressive start like 50 runs in the powerplay itself. That will certainly help the middle order to settle down and catapult towards the end of the innings.

Saurabh Tiwary has shown that he has the strength to clear the boundary with ease and can occupy the number 3 position in the absence of Steve Smith. Though the Supergiants have lost key players in this tournament, they have a number of players available to choose from. Baba Aparajith is a talented all-rounder and MSD should explore his options to get better results.

The Australian Leggie Adam Zampa performed well in the recent T20 world cup and has shown that he can make use of these Indian conditions to his advantage. He is deceptive in his bowling approach and a number of batsmen have failed to pick his googlies. His addition to the Pune bowling attack will only boost their chances of restricting the Daredevils.

The place where the Supergiants have lacked this season is scoring aggressively during the powerplay and also failing to accelerate after a good start. Promoting players like Albie Morkel and Thisara Perera up the order will be necessary to set a tough target for the Daredevils.

The Delhi Daredevils have excelled in Zaheer Khan’s captaincy this season. Rahul Dravid has been spot on with his decisions in choosing the players according to the pitch and this has greatly helped their cause. The Caribbean all-rounder Carlos Brathwaite will most probably be picked for the Kotla pitch and will be necessary for his cameos towards the end of the innings. Brathwaite has been good with the ball as well and will be important in the mid overs.

The Daredevils will be happy to let Rishabh Pant partner up with Quinton de Kock as the pair seemed to be in good spirits against the Gujarat Lions in their previous match. With JP Duminy, Karun Nair, and Sam Billings in the middle order, the Daredevils are a force to reckon with.

Having one of the best bowling attacks this season, the Daredevils will face a tough choice choosing between Imran Tahir, Brathwaite, and Billings. All 3 of them have performed well enough to earn a spot in the starting line-up and it will be interesting to see who will be chosen to play against the Supergiants.

The Daredevils will be favorites to get the 2 points against the struggling Supergiants especially with the absence of Steve Smith. The Supergiants will have to be on top of their game to go head to head against the Daredevils.