After suffering a thumping 57-run defeat against Mumbai Indians (MI), Shreyas Iyer-led Delhi Capitals (DC) are set to lock horns with SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the second Qualifier of IPL 2020 at Abu Dhabi. The Capitals batting unit was mediocre in the first Qualifier against MI.
While hunting down a daunting 200-run total, DC slumped to 0/3. Prithvi Shaw, Shikhar Dhawan and Ajinkya Rahane were shown the exit door by the Trent Boult-Jasprit Bumrah duo. The victory slipped away from DC as soon after they lost four wickets in the powerplay itself.
Aiming to shrug off their woes and reinvent their batting prowess, head coach Ricky Ponting might tweak the line-up to tackle SRH bowlers. Despite achieving a top-two finish, the form of their batsmen remains a concern for the Delhi franchise. Dhawan, who has scored 525 runs this season, has registered three ducks in his last five games. Similarly, skipper Shreyas Iyer, with 433 runs under his belt, has been struggling to score lately. Shaw's batting form has been an absolute mess. The youngster has scored just 30 runs in his last seven outings.
Meanwhile, SRH's batting force, especially the top-order, has been phenomenal. Peaking at the right team, Wriddhiman Saha and skipper Warner have been dominant at the top. Kane Williamson and Jason Holder have also been delivering vital contributions. Holder has notched up his performances with the ball too, scalping 13 wickets from 6 matches and playing a prominent role in SRH's campaign.
While DC batting force is struggling with inconsistency, their bowling duo of Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje has been dominant. Both have 45 wickets between them this season. Coupled with Ravichandran Ashwin, the DC bowling contingent will aim to strike early blows and restrict SRH to a modest total.
Coming to SRH's bowling camp, the likes of T Natarajan and Sandeep Sharma have stepped up in the absence of Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Natarajan has 16 wickets under his belt while Sandeep has 13. Rashid Khan, a proven performer with the ball, has also rolled out match-winning 'economical' spells for the Orange Army. The leg-spin maestro has 19 wickets to his name with an economy rate of 5.30.
Having won both the league-stage fixtures against DC this season, Warner's troops will be optimistic about booking a berth in the final.
Dream11 Playing XI: Shikhar Dhawan, Shreyas Iyer, Marcus Stoinis, Kane Williamson, Rishabh Pant, Jason Holder, Anrich Nortje, Kagiso Rabada, Ravichandran Ashwin, Rashid Khan, T Natarajan
