Delhi Daredevils are in decent nick, but Kings XI Punjab are struggling in IPL 2015 © IANS
The Delhi Daredevils (DD) are up against the Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) in Match 31 of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2015 at the Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi. This year, KXIP have had a tough time and they face another big contest against DD. Although DD have had a mixed year so far, they clearly are the favourites for this game considering the fact that they have been more consistent and reliable. With this match being played on home soil, DD would have better know-how of the conditions and would back themselves. IPL 2015 Highest run-scorer: List of best batsmen in IPL 8
KXIP have had the bowlers who have fired, but their batting has been missing in action. In Anureet Singh, Sandeep Sharma, Mitchell Johnson and Akshar Patel, they have four stable options in the bowling. However, their batting has been struggling. Things have gone to an extent that they have benched Virender Sehwag and Glenn Maxwell. Some of the other batsmen too have not been very consistent, and need to come good. IPL 2015 Highest wicket-taker: List of best bowlers in IPL 8
With this game being in Delhi, it may make sense to bring back Sehwag as he is the local man and can do well here. Having played at the Feroz Shah Kotla all his life, Sehwag would be one gunning for success. The short boundaries at the venue can be targeted by the big hitters in the group such as David Miller. Shaun Marsh could be in the mix as Maxwell could continue to warm the bench. KXIP are losing time and they need to get their act right soon. IPL 2015 Points Table & Team Standings
On the other hand, DD have had a roller-coaster, with some great highs and some disappointing lows. However, what is encouraging is that they seem to have the right combination and are not tinkering with it. Although Zaheer Khan is yet to come back, they have found a stable bowling combination in Dominic Joseph and Nathan Coulter-Nile. In Amit Mishra and Imran Tahir, they have a good pair of leg-spinners. IPL 2015 Most 6s and 4s: List of most dangerous batsmen in IPL 8
DD also have the right mix in the batting with Mayank Agarwal and Shreyas Iyer at the top. JP Duminy and Yuvraj Singh at No. 3 and 4 respectively is a good strategy with Kedar Jadhav to follow. Angelo Mathews brings in his mastery in the middle. With this makeup, the batting line-up looks good and they need to persist with it consistently in order to reap more rewards. Indian Premier League (IPL) 2015: Complete coverage
Squads:
Delhi Daredevils: JP Duminy (c), Quinton de Kock (wk), Mayank Agarwal, Manoj Tiwary, Yuvraj Singh, Saurabh Tiwary, Angelo Mathews, Kedar Jadhav, Imran Tahir, Amit Mishra, Shahbaz Nadeem, Zaheer Khan, Jaydev Unadkat, Mohammed Shami, CM Gautam, Gurinder Sandhu, Jayant Yadav, Albie Morkel, Srikar Bharat, Marcus Stoinis, Dominic Joseph Muthuswamy, Shreyas Iyer, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Karapak Jiyas, Travis Head.
Kings XI Punjab: George Bailey (c), Virender Sehwag, Murali Vijay, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Shaun Marsh, David Miller, Glenn Maxwell, Rishi Dhawan, Manan Vohra, Gurkeerat Singh Mann, Thisara Perera, Mitchell Johnson, Anureet Singh, Karanveer Singh, Sandeep Sharma, Shivam Sharma, Parvinder Awana, Akshar Patel, Yogesh Gowalkar, Beuran Hendricks, Shardul Thakur.
Time: 20:00 IST | 02:30 GMT
(Nishad Pai Vaidya is a Correspondent with CricketCountry and anchor for the site’s YouTube Channel. His Twitter handle is @nishad_45)