The Guptill-cycle finally ended yesterday with me being forced to transfer out Gautam Gambhir for Ajinkya Rahane. More than the Guptill drop, it’s Rohit Sharma coming back to the top that hurt my long-term plans. But that’s done. All that you can do is move on.
Delhi Daredevils vs Mumbai Indians
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Transfers made – 1; Transfers remaining – 59
Faf du Plessis out – Quinton de Kock out in
(uncapped player trick) Harshal Patel out – Pardeep Sahu in
Batting captain – Rohit Sharma
Bowling captain – Jasprit Bumrah
Batting captaincy options – Rohit Sharma and Quinton de Kock
I would pick Rohit ahead of De Kock for this match, as he will be facing a much easier bowling attack. The South African international should still come off, but why take risks when you have a safer option?
Bowling captaincy options – Jasprit Bumrah and Mitchell McClenaghan
I don’t have McClenaghan, so it has to be Bumrah. If the Daredevils bowl first, with a bit of fortune, Mohammad Shami and Chris Morris could be amongst the wickets as well. Amit Mishra should be safely negotiated, with the likes of Rohit and Rayudu in the top order; Buttler and Pollard are not bad players of spin as well.
Nature of the deck – Tad slow, but overall a good batting wicket.
Note: Don’t judge any pitch by how Kings XI batsmen play on it (re: Kings XI Punjab vs Delhi Daredevils match at the same venue).
Delhi Daredevils – where the match breaks
I am not sure what kind of touch Duminy is in, as he hasn't had a chance to bat after coming back from injury. Dravid & Co. will be hoping he manages to replicate last season’s form, which will go a long way in deciding where they end up this season. De Kock and Duminy firing together is their only hope of covering up their weak bowling unit.
Coming to this specific encounter, whatever the Daredevils score while batting first, Mumbai have the batting might to chase it down. So, they have to chase – their only hope of coming out on the right side of it.
Mumbai Indians – where the match breaks
Replace Tim Southee – You can only play two overseas bowlers when one of them is a proper death overs specialist. In this case, neither McClenaghan nor Southee fits into that category. Also, with the likes of Martin Guptill and Corey Anderson warming the bench, it’s not like you don’t have better replacements in your side.
Uncapped player pick – Krunal Pandya and Shreyas Iyer (differential).
Karun Nair needs to come in early to have an impact and also faces the possibility of being demoted in favour of Duminy.
Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Kings XI Punjab
Transfers made – 1; Transfers remaining – 58
Quinton de Kock out – David Warner in
(Uncapped) Krunal Pandya out - Bipul Sharma in
Batting captain - David Warner
Bowling captain - Mustafizur Rahman
Batting captaincy options – David Warner, Shaun Marsh and Murali Vijay
Marsh and Vijay could be decent differentials, but I don’t think it’s a risk worth taking against the Sunrisers bowling attack. Marsh’s potential, in particular, depends on how soon the Kings XI opening partnership gets broken.
Bowling captaincy options – Mustafizur Rahman and Bhuvneshwar Kumar
I don’t have Bhuvneshwar Kumar in my team, so Mustafizur, it is. Skills-wise, the Bangladeshi pacer is far better, but that Bhuvneshwar bowls two overs at the death and is pretty good at getting the yorkers in, at least in IPL, makes him an option completely worth it.
Nature of the deck – Flat
Sunrisers Hyderabad – where the match breaks
Scoring while chasing down a meagre score of 140 is much different than scoring while, say, setting a target or chasing some 170-odd runs. I wouldn’t, therefore, look too much into Dhawan’s innings against the Gujarat Lions, and the Sunrisers would do better to do the same.
Like it happened with Lions and Finch, the Sunrisers could be exposed if Warner gets out early. I don’t see it happening in this match though. They might need to find a way to hide Bipul Sharma with two left-handers in the Kings XI middle order.
Kings XI Punjab – where the match breaks
As good as Manan Vohra and Murali Vijay have been, Shaun Marsh, simply, has to open. At No.3, his threat could be nullified if their openers bat through the first 6-8 overs, and you can't sacrifice an overseas spot so easily.
They don’t have options to strengthen their bowling line-up, so even if their batting order clicks, there is not much they can do,
Uncapped player pick – Manan Vohra, Pardeep Sahu and Bipul Sharma
I couldn’t get Vohra in due to combination reasons, so I will have to bank on Bhuvneshwar and Mustafizur to get him out.
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