After the Royal Challengers Bangalore, the Delhi Daredevils were the second team to be knocked out of contention for the playoffs of the Indian Premier League this year. Despite having a strong line-up, the franchise were not able to get the desired results.
There were a few positives though with youngsters such as Sanju Samson and Rishabh Pant playing a vital role in the little success they achieved.
With two games to go, they were dealt a further blow as Angelo Matthews, Kagiso Rabada and Chris Morris have all flown back to South Africa for national duties. With the trio gone, lets take a look at the probable XI for DD for their match against the Gujarat Lions.
Sanju Samson started off the season with a bang as he scored the first century of the tournament. He followed that up with a few more good performances with the bat. However, he has not looked in great touch over the past couple of matches or so despite being the highest run-getter for the side. He will look to give his all in DD’s penultimate match of the tournament.
Karun Nair’s poor form continues with the bat in the IPL. Apart from scoring a 20 ball 39 against the Sunrisers Hyderabad, he has not done much with the bat. He will have to pull up his socks and put in a few good performances or else he could see himself dropped from the Indian squad in the future.
Rishabh Pant was dismissed for a duck in the previous match but showed everyone what he is capable of with a superb 43 ball 97 against the Sunrisers. He probably should have opened the innings and been utilised more. However, he would look to sign off on a high and give the Indian selectors something to think about.
Shreyas Iyer missed the first few matches due to an injury but has provided some stability in the middle order since his first match this year. The right-hander will need to keep the tempo of the innings going if the side are to get to a big total and will look to get a big score in the upcoming matches
Extra Cover: IPL Live Score 2017: Gujarat Lions vs Delhi Daredevils
Marlon Samuels joined the franchise only a couple of weeks ago and has featured in two games so far but has failed to make any sort of impact with the bat or the ball. He can be a match winner on his day as he has proved in the World T20 on two occasions.
Corey Anderson cemented his place in the side with a few good all-round performances. However, he has not been too consistent and would look to change things up a bit with only two games remaining in the season.
Carlos Brathwaite will most likely be included in the side after a span of almost a month. Given the absence of Morris and Rababa, the franchise will have no other option than to pick him on the side. He will look to get back to his fearless best for the final two matches of the Daredevils campaign.
Pat Cummins had a performance to forget in their previous encounter as he leaked a lot of runs in his 4 overs. However. apart from that he has achieved reasonable success with the ball and has helped contain the opposition’s runs as well.
Zaheer Khan has rolled back the years with some tidy performances with the ball. He has been lauded for his captaincy too by a lot of former cricketers despite finishing at the bottom of the table. With only two matches to go, Zak would look to get the 4 points and the end the season on a winning note.
Amit Mishra has been quite inconsistent and would not be too pleased with his performances in this year’s tournament. He will have to pull up his socks in order to get the Indian selectors to notice his performances for future tournaments.
Mohammad Shami is on a comeback trail and has been quite impressive in the few matches he has played for DD so far. He will look to give it his all ahead of the Champions Trophy as he would look to play his first ODI since the 2015 World Cup.
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