Preview: M7 - DD vs KXIP

Match 7 of the VIVO IPL 2016 will feature the Delhi Daredevils playing host to Kings XI Punjab. Both teams are yet to open their account this season. While DD were decimated in their opening match against the Kolkata Knight Riders, KXIP took no points from their home match against debutants Gujarat Lions.

The Delhi Daredevils will need a huge improvement in their performance from the opening game. The batsmen fielded by the team, especially in the top five, were largely youngsters who have impressed in recent times and have earned their place in the XI. They will need to apply better and be better in their shot selection and one can expect this will have been addressed by coach Paddy Upton and mentor Rahul Dravid.

KXIP were good in parts in their opening game. The openers set up the innings very nicely, before the team lost the wickets of the dangerous David Miller and Glenn Maxwell in the same over. The team will be particularly disappointed about their bowling performance in the opening match; despite having set a target of 162, the team couldn’t defend the target, with the opposition running away with the match in 17.4 overs. The KXIP management could face a selection dilemma ahead of the match; if according to reports, Shaun Marsh has recovered from the bug that rendered him unavailable for the opening clash, it will interesting to see if he is picked in place of Marcus Stoinis.

When

15 April 2016, 2000 Hrs IST

Where
Feroz Shah Kotla Ground, Delhi

Weather
Temperature: Max 35°c, Min 31°c
Humidity: Max 27%
Wind: 13kmph

The Protagonists

Quinton de Kock is the only international cricketer in the Delhi Daredevils top five. The South African left-hander has been hitting the ball well recently; he was South Africa’s top run-getter in the recently-concluded World T20 and was named by the ICC in the Team of the Tournament. He will need to cause pile on the runs along with Shreyas Iyer, who was in scintillating form in this season’s Ranji Trophy. It will be interesting to see if DD propel Shreyas back to the top of the order – where he had plenty of success last season. Among the bowlers, DD will expect skipper Zaheer Khan and Amit Mishra to tie down the opposition batsmen. Given the history of the conditions in Delhi, one could also expect the team to bring in the South African leg-spinner Imran Tahir, possibly at the expense of Nathan Coulter-Nile.

Murali Vijay timed the ball very well in KXIP’s match against the Gujarat Lions. The Tamil Nadu batsmen is among few batsmen around who has the talent, temperament and skills to succeed in longer version of the game as well as in T20s – all this without taking any undue risks. David Miller and Glenn Maxwell can cause plenty of damage in very little time and hence they will be important characters in KXIP’s batting plans. On the bowling front, KXIP lack experienced international spinners in their ranks, and hence they will rely heavily on the likes of Mitchell Johnson and Chris Morris to provide them breakthroughs.

Trivia

Among the six teams who have been in the IPL from before this season, Delhi Daredevils is the only team to have lost more matches than they have won at HQ. Off the 44 matches DD have played at the Feroz Shah Kotla, they have won only 16, giving them a success rate of 37.2.

In the last 18 IPL matches played at the Feroz Shah Kotla, starting with the 2013 seasons, teams chasing down targets have been extremely successful, winning 13 matches. The average first innings total in those 18 matches was 153.
source--.iplt20