New Delhi In a game supposed to decide the fourth and the final semi-finalist, Delhi Daredevils take on Deccan Chargers at the Ferozeshah Kotla stadium in New Delhi. Loss for either could jeopardise their chances of reaching the semis. A win though would guarantee a place in the final four, something which has surely come at a high price this IPL.
Delhi's position is a little better than Deccan's. They have a good run-rate and are sitting pretty with 14 points. They might just be in the semis, unless they make the mistake of losing by a huge margin. Their batting has looked good in most of the games and the good news is that their skipper Gautam Gambhir has struck form. With Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, David Warner and Paul Collingwood in their line-up, this is one batting attack that has the potential to decimate any bowling line-up.
On the other hand, Deccan’s batting has failed to live upto their reputation. Skipper Adam Gilchrist has hardly made runs; Andrew Symonds has more often then not failed to deliver and Monish Mishra’s quick knocks have been too brief. It is the efforts of two Indian batsmen namely Tirumalasetti Suman and Rohit Sharma which has taken Deccan to where it stands now. Both the batsmen have has been spectacular in taking their side home, time and again.
On the bowling front, Delhi has the edge with Dirk Nannes and Ashish Nehra being in sublime form. The two left-arm seamers have succeeded in maintaining a tight leash as well as picking up wickets up front. It was early wickets against Chennai in their last game which broke Chennai’s back and made sure the home side skittled for a paltry 112. Amit Mishra has also been in decent form with comeback man Tillakratne Dilshan and all-rounder Virender Sehwag support him pretty well.
Deccan on the other hand has struggled in their bowling department. Though Ryan Harris has given them good starts time and again, others have seriously let the side down. Their biggest disappointment without doubt has been RP Singh. The left-arm seamer has given runs in plenty to the opposition batsmen. The way Mahela Jayawardene picked him up for boundaries in the last game, it was clear that he had a lot of work to do on his bowling to be back in rhythm. Purple cap holder Pragyan Ojha has also not looked very impressive in the last few games and all and all-in-all the situation looks grim for Adam Gilchrist’s bowlers.
The one problem for batters of both sides will be the Delhi track. It has been a low-slow kind of a surface with enormous help for the spinners. Run scoring has not been easy and totals of 140 odd can be a tricky one to chase. The team batting first is definitely going to hold an advantage and hence the toss would be doubly crucial.
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