DD vs SRH: Buoyant Sunrisers face inconsistent Delhi

Tags: Indian Premier League 2015, 45th match - Delhi Daredevils Vs Sunrisers Hyderabad at Raipur - May 09, 2015, Delhi Daredevils, Sunrisers Hyderabad

Published on: May 09, 2015

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An ever-improving Sunrisers Hyderabad will take on the struggling Delhi Daredevils in match number 45 of the Indian Premier League at Raipur on Saturday. Sunrisers go into the match having achieved one of their biggest wins of the seasons

An ever-improving Sunrisers Hyderabad will take on the struggling Delhi Daredevils in match number 45 of the Indian Premier League at Raipur on Saturday. Sunrisers go into the match having achieved one of their biggest wins of the seasons, against Rajasthan Royals, who have been one of the teams to beat this season. The triumph would undoubtedly have raised their confidence level to a great extent. Delhi, on the other hand, have continued to remain inconsistent. Everytime it seems they are getting into some sort of rhythm, they end up disappointing. The loss against Kolkata was a continuation of this run.

Match: Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Delhi Daredevils 45th T20 at Raipur

Time: Match Start at 8 PM IST | 14:30 GMT

Toss: Sunrisers Hyderabad, who chose to bat first

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Sunrisers Hyderabad took a massive call to drop both Trent Boult and Dale Steyn from their line-up to strengthen their batting against Rajasthan. And, while that almost cost them the game, their struggling batting did finally come good. It was their first victory this season without a major contribution from skipper David Warner. While the Aussie left-hander did get his side off to a rollicking start, it would be the fact that a couple of others took on the lead role that would please the team most. Eoin Morgan played the kind of knock needed to reassure the franchise that their batting is in good hands. It was great to see Shikhar Dhawan coming out of his shell as well, and batting with freedom.

In spite of the win, Sunrisers do have some issues to sort out. Leaving out both Steyn and Boult is not a feasible option since the Kumars do not have the pace. Ishant Sharma bowled reasonably well, but he cannot be depended upon considering his inconsistency. Both Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Praveen Kumar fought back well after considering plenty of runs towards the end, but they were backed by a 200 plus score. The spin department remains weak with Karn Sharma not firing. Also, Naman Ojha and Moises Henriques are yet to make a serious impression with their batting.

Shifting focus to Delhi, they are yet to find a proper winning combination. Against Kolkata, both their batting and bowling faltered again. The bowlers failed to keep Kolkata down to a gettable total. Delhi were getting wickets at regular intervals, but Imran Tahir leaked a lot of runs, which hurt Delhi. Even Zaheer Khan looked ineffective against Kolkata. If they want to do well against Sunrisers, Zaheer and Tahir will be their key bowlers. Amit Mishra gained some confidence with a silent spell, which would please Delhi.

Not for the first time, Delhi's batting stumbled against Kolkata. Yuvraj Singh was their big hope this season, but he has been a massive flop this season, and his failure against Kolkata put the side in deep trouble. Lack of runs from Angelo Mathews have also not helped the team's cause. Delhi have been heavily dependent on their top three -- Shreyas Iyer, Mayank Agarwal and skipper JP Duminy. Even among them, only Iyer has exhibited some sort of consistency. The trio failed against Kolkata, and Delhi's fortunes sunk. They will find it difficult to pick themselves up against Sunrisers.

--By A Cricket Analyst

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