IPL 2021 – DC vs SRH, Preview – Second-placed Delhi Capitals aim for pole position

Delhi Capitals (DC) will be raring to face Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in Match number 33 of the 14th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) on Wednesday, September 22, 2021 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai.

Rishabh Pant to remain Delhi Capitals captain, SRH appoints Williamson. (Image: IPL)

Delhi is currently ranked number 2 in the points table with 6 wins in 8 matches while Hyderabad stands at the 8th position with 1 win in 7 matches in this year’s tournament.

Sunrisers have a slightly better record in games against Capitals, leading with 11 wins to their opponents 8. Their last game was a final-over thriller in Chennai with DC winning the super over after the scores were tied in the final analysis.

In the first phase of IPL 2021 held in India, DC and SRH finished at opposite ends in the points table, Delhi were in first position with 12 points in 8 games and Hyderabad was at eight position with only 2 points in 7 games.

Super-charged DC riding the success wave in 2021

The Delhi Capitals had everything going their way in the first leg. Shikhar Dhawan and Prithvi Shaw gave good starts to the team and played aggressive cricket in the powerplay. Their bowlers like youngster Avesh Khan and senior players Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje and Ravichandaran Ashwin had an impressive time on the crease while bowling.

There is also good news for Delhi Capitals as their regular captain Shreyas Iyer has recovered from his injury, albeit, Rishabh Pant will continue to lead the side. Inclusion of Shreyas in the Delhi Capital’s team will boost the confidence of the side and their batting would be more balanced.

SRH going through one of its worst phases

Meanwhile, on the other hand, IPL 2021 has not turned out well for Sunrisers Hyderabad much against their hopes. They were able to win only a single game out of the seven matches they have played in this league so far.

Due to such a poor performance in IPL 2021 so far, David Warner was relieved from captaincy duties and was replaced by his Kiwi teammate in the franchise, Kane Williamson. David Warner was also not able to convert his starts into big scores and could not find a place in the playing XI by the end of the first leg.

Although SRH had a few commendable individual bowling performances, their batting let them down on most occasions.

This time around, they also don't have Jonny Bairstow, who was their highest run-scorer in the first leg but pulled out before the start of the second phase. Their biggest boost this time will be the return of Thangaraj Natarajan who played a crucial role in their playoff run in IPL 2020. Nattu sustained a knee injury during the Australia tour which came back to haunt him in the IPL earlier this year.

Read More: IPL 2021, PBKS vs RR - Kartik Tyagi's 5 last over dot balls produce 2-run win for Royals

Pitch Report

The Dubai surface has shown some assistance for the seamers early on. If this continues, pace could play a decisive role with both sides possessing world-class personnel in this department.

Probable XIs

Delhi Capitals Probable XI – Shikhar Dhawan, Prithvi Shaw, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (c & wk), Shimron Hetmeyer, Marcus Stoinis, Amit Mishra, Ravichandran Ashwin, Anrich Nortje, Avesh Khan, Kagiso Rabada

Sunrisers Hyderabad Probable XI – David Warner, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Manish Pandey, Kane Williamson (c), Kedar Jadhav, Jason Holder, Abdul Samad, Rashid Khan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Thangaraj Natarajan, Sandeep Sharma

Read More: BCCI announces India’s schedule for 2021-22 home season; 14 T20Is, 3 ODIs, 4 Tests in the offing