1. Background:
IPL finally reaches Delhi for it’s 34th match when Delhi Capitals face Sunrisers Hyderabad. Delhi has been on a resurgence of a sort after back to back wins. The injury struck Delhi Capitals have surprised everyone in the last two gigs. With 3 wins in 7 matches Delhi are not completely out of the contention and one more win will get them in the mix at the top half of the table. Sunrisers Hyderabad on the other end have a pretty simple strategy “Bat To Win”. They have lit up the IPL with some mind blowing batting performances and have managed to defend the massive scores they pile on.
2. Ground & Pitch:
This will be the first match that will be played in Delhi for this season. Ricky Ponting suggested that the pitch looks better than 2023 and hopes it plays better.
Delhi was home to a lot of WPL matches where we saw a lot of high scores in the Women Premier League so indications are that the batting conditions will be good. The ground itself is a small ground and thus it will be a difficult proposition for the bowlers especially the spinning duo of Delhi (Kuldeep and Axar) who have been terrific this season.
Scores in IPL 2023 in Delhi were: 162, 172, 127, 197, 181, 167, 223 where it was difficult to defend the scores unless it was above 185. Expect a similar trend this time over as well.
3. Players To Watch For DC:
Jake Fraser-McGurk in his last two outings has clearly shown why he is rated so high in the Australian circuit. It would be surprising if he is not part of the Australian line up in the upcoming T20 World Cup.
Rishab Pant has struck form and that bodes well for the Indian team. He still is fighting for a spot in the Indian Team with Dinesh Karthik showing that he still has the skill sets and the form to be part of the Indian Line Up. Expect him to continue on the good form.
Kuldeep Yadav has all but secured his spot in the Indian Team. Would be interesting to see how he balls in this small ground and good batting conditions.
4. Players To Watch For SRH
Pat Cummins has shown why he was one of the most expensive buys in the auction. He is the only saving grace in the mediocre bowling line up of SRH. Expect him to continue the good show.
Travis Head has been the key for SRH scoring the big totals. If he gets going Delhi will struggle to continue the winning streak in front of the home crowd.
Heinrich Klaasen is probably amongst the Top 5 batsmen in T20 circuit right now. SRH need to send him little higher up the order so that he makes the most of his terrific form and chanceless hitting.
5. Betting Tips:
Run Line is at 182.5 for the First Innings at evens. You can get 170.5 at about 1.5. Despite this being the first match and without knowing the conditions I would stick my neck out and say I say expect a high scoring affair in Delhi. Over 175 for me.
Match Bet. SRH start as favorite and rightly so but if Delhi can somehow restrict SRH then they should back themselves to chase against the mediocre bowling attack of SRH. At the time of this post SRH is at 1.72 and Delhi is at 2.34. I would pass the Pre match bet here. Wait to see what is the first innings total, anything below 185, I ll back the chasing team to win.