SH vs DD: Can DD negotiate Dale Steyn and company?

It’s the time for the clash of the wounded tigers. Sunrisers Hyderabad take on Delhi Daredevils in a match when both teams need to win to attain a self belief that they can still create ripples in this IPL. SunRisers have till now played 2 matches against Rajasthan Royals and Kings XI Punjab and lost both the matches. Their side has looked out of sorts in both the matches where their batsmen have failed miserably given the kind of batting prowess they have. In their encounter against Punjab it was the Maxwell show altogether. They had chances to contain Maxwell but did not avail them. A dropped catch and his wicket on a No-ball proved to be of immense cost. Amit Mishra received a beating by Maxwell which he will remember for a long time. Dale Steyn looked out of sorts. Steyn has not been able to exert the pressure that he build in Twenty20 world cup. He doesn’t seem to be motivated enough as serving his own country motivates him. Bhuvneshwar Kumar was the only star who could shine that day amongst their bowlers. Irfan Pathan replaced Ishant Sharma on the basis of just one performance or maybe because of Pathan`s all-round abilities.
Delhi DareDevils, on the other hand, with many new faces in their team including a new coach in Gary Kirsten have had two losses against CSK and RCB and won against KKR thanks to the heroics of JP Duminy. Their team looks like lacking a good leader and a middle order which is not delivering. Their Star batsman Kevin Pieterson is expected to return to the side for this match after his finger injury and will play the crucial role of being the leader who can inspire the team to play without any pressure. Dinesh Karthik and JP Duminy looked in great touch against KKR and the return of Pieterson will make their middle order look much healthier with Ross Taylor. Daredevils also have Murali Vijay who has not yet hit his form which brings all the pressure on their middle order. But this time around they will be up against Steyn and co. which is a very lethal attack. The concern that arose from the defeat they had against CSK was the way they performed against their fast bowlers. Daredevils was left to 5 down inside the the first 10 overs with all of those wickets taken by the medium pacers. By the time spinners came on, half of their batting side was back in the pavilion. The ball swung and seamed and the batsmen could not adjust to the wicket. This time around they will have to face better swing bowling in Steyn and Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Its difficult to say that Pieterson would straight away hit form as he will be playing after a long gap now. Hope is what Daredevils can always keep. All the best Delhi Daredevils.

—Ddevanshu Wadhawan