When the Delhi Capitals face the powerful and adaptable Gujarat Titans in the IPL on Tuesday, they will need their underwhelming Indian hitters to shine.
Delhi Capitals are in a do-or-die scenario after six defeats in eight games, which has been mostly caused by the egregious failure of Prithvi Shaw and Sarfaraz Khan.
To qualify for the IPL play-offs, they will likely need to win all six of their remaining games, but with the resources at their disposal, it is exceedingly doubtful.
Due to Shaw's poor performance, Phil Salt now gets the chance to start opposite David Warner. The squad would need him to be reliable in addition to Warner and number three Mitchell Marsh, who finally reached his potential against Sunrisers Hyderabad with an all-around effort. He was at his most destructive in the most recent game.
Delhi has a problem with losing too many wickets in the middle overs, which has to be addressed moving forward. Axar Patel's dream run with the bat over the previous 12 months in international cricket makes it logical to keep him for the death overs, but Warner may move him up to number five, if not higher.
Priyam Garg, who entered the season as a backup player, now has a crucial chance, and he only has himself to blame if he is unable to capitalise on it. At number four, the seasoned Manish Pandey may do even better.
Although the Indian bowlers are not performing as poorly as the batters, Mukesh Kumar can undoubtedly lower his economy rate after giving up nearly 11 runs per over in seven games.
While Anrich Nortje will be looking for wickets in the upcoming games, veteran Ishan Sharma has performed admirably in the three games in which he has participated.
Delhi is in serious danger as they are playing Gujarat Titans, a team that is known for winning games in any circumstance.
They had some trouble chasing 180 against KKR on Saturday, but they finally won with 13 balls to spare.
earn help the squad earn its sixth victory in eight games, Vijay Shankar, who was batting opposite David Miller, produced one of his greatest IPL innings. The team to defeat this year is still the reigning champs.
Joshua Little, a left-handed Irish pacer, is maturing after his first season taught him some hard lessons.
They could always rely on Rashid Khan for spin, but they also have another gem from Afghanistan in Noor Ahmad, who has taken eight wickets in four games while maintaining an amazing economy rate of 7.33.
Teams:
Delhi Capitals: David Warner (c), Prithvi Shaw, Sarfaraz Khan, Aman Hakim Khan, Abhishek Porel (wk), Axar Patel, Khaleel Ahmed, Kuldeep Yadav, Rovman Powell, Rilee Rossouw, Anrich Nortje, Mustafizur Rahaman, Chetan Sakariya, Mukesh Kumar, Phil Salt, Lungi Ngidi, Praveen Dubey, Lalit Yadav, Ripal Patel, Vicky Ostwal, Ishant Sharma, Manish Pandey, Kamlesh Nagarkoti and Yash Dhull.
Gujarat Titans: Hardik Pandya (c), Shubman Gill, David Miller, Abhinav Manohar, Sai Sudharsan, Wriddhiman Saha, Matthew Wade, Rashid Khan, Rahul Tewatia, Vijay Shankar, Mohammed Shami, Alzarri Joseph, Yash Dayal, Pradeep Sangwan, Darshan Nalkande, Jayant Yadav, R. Sai Kishore, Noor Ahmad, Dasun Shanaka, Odean Smith, KS Bharat, Shivam Mavi, Urvil Patel, Joshua Little and Mohit Sharma.
Match begins at 7:30 IST.
