Delhi’s batting has disappointed in the last two games. Against KXIP, they lost despite Shikhar Dhawan’s record hundred. And versus KKR, they completely failed as a batting unit. They will be in a dilemma whether to continue with the misfiring Ajinkya Rahane or go back to Prithvi Shaw, who has gone off the boil after an impressive start. Skipper Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant and Marcus Stoinis need to rise to the occasion.
In the bowling department, the South African duo of Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje have been excellent, but Tushar Deshpande has been inconsistent, which has hurt Delhi in recent matches. Ravichandran Ashwin had a rare poor day against KKR, going for 45 in his three, so he would be keen to make amends.
Hyderabad, on the other hand, should be extremely upset over not being able to chase 127. Their middle and lower order was yet again exposed as they made a hash of a straightforward target. For SRH, skipper David Warner, Jonny Bairstow, Manish Pandey and Vijay Shankar have all been among the runs. They need to combine well against DC.
In the bowling department, Jason Holder has added potency to the bowling attack, which had been lacking experience since the exit of Bhunveshwar Kumar. Sandeep Sharma and Rashid Khan were also brilliant in the last match. So that is one are where they have made progress.
Head-to-Head Record: In 16 games, SRH have a 10-6 lead over Delhi. SRH also won the last contest between the two teams.
DC Predicted XI: Shikhar Dhawan, Ajinkya Rahane, Shreyas Iyer(c), Rishabh Pant(w), Marcus Stoinis, Shimron Hetmyer, Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kagiso Rabada, Tushar Deshpande, Anrich Nortje
SRH Predicted XI: David Warner(c), Jonny Bairstow(w), Manish Pandey, Vijay Shankar, Priyam Garg, Abdul Samad, Jason Holder, Rashid Khan, Khaleel Ahmed, Sandeep Sharma, T Natarajan
Pitch Report
Batting is getting tougher and scores are getting smaller. Spinners will play a big role. Batting first might be the better option.
Weather conditions
Temperature will remain in the 30s, and will only cool down as the night progresses.
--Renin Wilben