Transfers made – 2; Transfers remaining – 38
Andre Russell out – Usman Khawaja in (if he opens)
Gautam Gambhir out – Bhuvneshwar Kumar in (combination pick)
(uncapped) Robin Uthappa out – Rishabh Pant in
Batting captain/Full match captain – Quinton de Kock (flat deck)/ Ajinkya Rahane (turner)
Bowling captain – Chris Morris
Batting captaincy options – Quinton de Kock, Ajinkya Rahane and Usman Khawaja
Taking Khawaja is in itself a gamble at this point, and I don’t want to captain him as well and fall behind if he fails. Between the remaining two, the deck will decide who I eventually go with.
Bowling captaincy options - Chris Morris and Thisara Perera
Perera is basically a lottery, so I am sticking with Morris again. The likes of Scott Boland, Ashok Dinda and Mohammad Shami could get away with a cheap couple of wickets courtesy of bowling at the death, but they aren’t worth banking on.
Nature of the deck – Pretty much anything
Like Eden Gardens, Delhi has changed its face often, too, this season. But since it’s an evening game, the dew is likely to neutralise the advantage the bowlers get anyway. Watch out for the Daredevils' team combination to get an idea of the deck and plan accordingly.
Uncapped players – Karun Nair (if he bats at 3), Rishabh Pant, Murugan Ashwin, Rajat Bhatia and Shahbaz Nadeem
DD – Fantasy Clinchers
As I had said in my very first preview of the Daredevils, Rahul Dravid and Paddy Upton keep changing their playing XI and batting order depending on the match situations, which makes this team a fantasy nightmare. Very few teams would have dropped Carlos Brathwaite after the innings he played that day, but then very few teams would have got him in in place of Imran Tahir for that match as well.
Rishabh Pant had a field day against Gujarat Lions’ bowlers last match, but that was a scenario perfectly suited for a player as young as him – 120/130 kph bowlers, left-arm spinners and no scoreboard pressure. While he could still give you the cameos, I will be very surprised if he manages to play that good a knock again.
Against Pune, today, he is likely to be tested by Boland's pace and bounce; Ashwin’s history versus left-handers could be a factor as well.
RPSG – Fantasy Clinchers
Usman Khawaja and George Bailey are expected to replace Steve Smith and Peter Handscomb in the playing XI. What will be interesting to see is how they accomodate Khawaja, with Saurabh Tiwary scoring a half-century last game. Ideally there shouldn’t even be a debate about it – he should open, but you never know with Pune given how weird they have been with their tactics.
I don’t see any other changes, as MS Dhoni looked happy with his team’s bowling performance last game.
Match call – Delhi Daredevils all the way
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