Transfers made – 3; Transfers remaining – 49
Faf du Plessis out – Quinton de Kock in
David Warner out – Ravindra Jadeja in
Mustafizur Rahman out – Amit Mishra in
(uncapped) Deepak Hooda out – Pravin Tambe in
Batting captain – Quinton de Kock
Bowling captain – Amit Mishra (if DD bowl first)/ Dwayne Bravo (if GL bowl first)
Cut-down sub – Quinton de Kock
One captain for the entire match? Go with the bowler from the team bowling first.
Batting captaincy options – Quinton de Kock and Suresh Raina
Top tip: If what I saw in the last match is any indicator, don’t expect more than a 50 from a batsman on this wicket, which is fast turning out to be a proper dustbowl.
Now coming to the options we have, Raina has developed this bizarre habit of not being able to convert his starts in IPL for a couple of years now, so that makes me side with De Kock. It's true that De Kock is not a great player of spin on a dry wicket, but look at the opposition’s bowling unit: Dwayne Bravo, Pravin Tambe, and Ravindra Jadeja are their best bets to pick up wickets on this deck.
Jadeja being a left-armer wouldn’t trouble De Kock and Bravo chiefly operates at the death, which leaves them with only Tambe – who doesn’t usually bowl more than one over in PP – to get rid of the South African stalwart. And powerplay being the best time to play on a turning wicket, there is an easy 50 for the taking here.
JP Duminy bats low, doesn’t play spin all that well, and will have to deal with a lot of Bravo today. The fact that he didn’t bowl even when Krunal Pandya was going berserk last game makes me doubt his all-round value.
Dwayne Smith was mighty impressive last game, but usually, leg-spinners (on dry wickets), swing and extra pace get the better of him (read: Mishra-Tahir, Zak, and Morris).
Samson’s talent has never been in doubt; it’s his lack of consistency that has let him down the last couple of years. I can wait on him to see if that has changed.
Bowling captaincy options – Amit Mishra and Dwayne Bravo
As usual, whoever bowls first gets the nod. Granted, Bravo hasn’t picked up many so far, but remember the golden rule – never mess with a death bowler. This wicket is tailor-made for him to break the drought as well.
The only thing that could stop Mishra from wreaking havoc is Raina and Jadeja playing him out, or in case of bowling second, the lack of runs on the board.
The likes of Chris Morris, Ravindra Jadeja, Imran Tahir and James Faulkner could be excellent differentials as well.
Nature of the deck – Dry aka a Rajat Bhatia special.
Uncapped picks: Pravin Tambe (1), Shivil Kaushik/Shadab Jakati (2), Mayank Agarwal (3) and Karun Nair (4)
Delhi Daredevils – where the match breaks
The Daredevils need to keep the match in control till their leg-spinners come into the attack. How can they do that? Zaheer Khan has been getting some good swing going so far, so that locks one end. With Mohammad Shami being mediocre, maybe bowl Pawan Negi to McCullum – a super-suspect against spin.
The left-handed bats of Delhi have a very important role to play; if they don’t last, Jadeja and Tambe will be very difficult to stop here.
Gujarat Lions – where the match breaks
The exact reverse: break the game in the powerplay. It will then be up to the India-heavy middle order of the Lions to make sure overs 7-16 are seen through without much damage, and for Bravo and Faulkner to finish the job at the death.
How soon they nail De Kock for the likes of Jadeja and Tambe to be fully effective.
Possible team changes
Delhi Daredevils – Mayank Agarwal for Shreyas Iyer
Gujarat Lions – James Faulkner for Aaron Finch, Shivil Kaushik for Shadab Jakati, Ishan Kishan for Dhawal Kulkarni
Match call – Delhi Daredevils to win in what is likely to be an evenly-competed match.
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