David Warner and Shreyas Iyer
With a berth in the final at stake, in-form SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) are slated to lock horns with struggling Delhi Capitals (DC) in the second Qualifier of the on-going IPL 2020. The two sides have had a contrasting tale, especially in the past few days. While SRH have found the rhythm and a winning combination in the latter part of the league, DC have struggled in achieving consistency in their batting exposition.
Despite being equipped with the likes of Shikhar Dhawan, Prithvi Shaw and Ajinkya Rahane, Capitals' top-order has been dismal this year. Though Dhawan has scored consecutive IPL tons this season, he has failed to click in vital games.
Talking about Shaw, the youngster might be shown the exit door after a string of underwhelming performances. Similarly, Rahane has also managed to score a single half-century amid the limited opportunities which he has got in the UAE. DC's batting collapse in the first Qualifier against Mumbai Indians (MI) was a testament to their inconsistency.
While hunting a daunting 200-run total at Dubai, DC slumped to 0/3 after their top-order trio departed on ducks. Marcus Stoinis' 65 off 46 and Axar Patel's 33-ball 42 steadied their sinking ship but it was all futile at the end. Shreyas Iyer's men managed to post a meagre 143, failing to book a place in the final. In this second opportunity to move into the summit clash, Capitals will probably throw the kitchen sink in pursuit of a much-needed victory.
SRH, on the other hand, will aim to do nothing fancy but stick to their recent deeds. Robust starts from the top-order and match-winning spell by the bowling unit have played a pivotal role in their success. SRH will miss the services of Wriddhiman Saha owing to injury but skipper David Warner and Kane Williamson are expected to rise to the occasion. All-rounder Jason Holder has also been phenomenal for the Orange Army, scalping 13 wickets in six games.
Along with Holder, the SRH bowling unit is equipped with match-winners like Rashid Khan, T Natarajan and Sandeep Sharma. Against a struggling DC batting unit, they will be hoping to put pressure from the word go. Sandeep has impressed with the new ball while Rashid has been lethal with his economical and wicket-taking spells.
To tackle SRH's bowling prowess, DC team management might tweak their batting unit at the top. Shaw or Rahane might face the axe and Shimron Hetmyer can make a return to the starting squad. One positive for DC will be their fatal bowling duo of Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje. Both speedsters have scalped 45 wickets, playing a crucial role in DC's trail this year. Ravichandran Ashwin has also done exceedingly well with the ball, registering 13 scalps to his name so far.
Head to Head: Sunrisers Hyderabad lead the Delhi Capitals 11-6 in terms of the head-to-head record. In both IPL 2020 fixtures between these two sides, Warner's men came on top. However, DC have an upper hand in playoffs, having thumped SRH in the Eliminator last year.
Crucial stats:
- Skipper Warner has been consistent for the past six IPL seasons. His performance against Capitals has also been impressive as he has scored 440 runs in DC-SRH encounters. In this season, he is among leading run-scorers with 546 runs under his belt.
- Rashid Khan has bowled eight overs against DC this season where he has scalped six wickets. Surprisingly, he has conceded just 21 runs in these eight overs.
- Though Rishabh Pant has been inefficient this season, his record against SRH has been decent. He has scored 392 runs against the Hyderabad side and was also the top-scorers in the last battle between the two.
- Shikhar Dhawan will hope to deliver when it matters. He has 525 runs to his name so far and he'll eye another IPL 2020 ton. He has scored runs this season at an average of 43.75 and a strike-rate of 144.23. Along with twin centuries, Dhawan also has three half-centuries in the on-going IPL edition.
- Marcus Stoinis has put up an impressive all-round display for DC this year. The Australian has 314 runs and 9 wickets to his name.
- Nortje-Rabada duo has 45 wickets under its belt. To tackle Warner and Williamson at the top, DC will come out all guns blazing with their pace battery.
- After Bhuvneshwar Kumar's departure, SRH's pace unit has done an efficient job. While T Natarajan has 16 wickets to his name, Sandeep Sharma and Jason Holder have scalped 13 wickets each.
- Rashid Khan is among leading wicket-takers this season with 19 scalps under his belt. Moreover, he has an economy rate of 5.30. To match Rashid's brilliance, DC have veteran Ravichandran Ashwin in their arsenal. The off-spinner has 13 wickets to his name so far.
