The Hindu : Sport : Kings XI Punjab will test Delhi Daredevils

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Kings XI Punjab will test Delhi Daredevils

Vijay Lokapally

With the pitch promising to be a belter, another high-scoring game likely

Interesting match-up between Delhi’s middle-order and Punjab bowlers
Sreesanth, Chawla and Pathan look more to strike than to contain

— Photo: S. Subramanium

ON A ROLL: The fact that Yuvraj Singh’s side has won six of its last seven matches despite the unavailability of key players like Kumar Sangakkara and the Aussies says a lot about its bench strength.

NEW DELHI: Another match, one more run feast, entertainment neatly packaged. The fans are hoping for the best at the Ferozeshah Kotla when Delhi Daredevils clashes with Kings XI Punjab in a significant match of the Indian Premier League here on Saturday.

The pitch again promises to be a belter and the teams raise hopes of an exciting encounter, what with the players keen to make an impression.

Their journey thus far has been distinctly varied. Delhi started off well and then slipped. Punjab faltered before recovering to win six out of the last seven matches.

Big test

Delhi has had easy outings at home against Deccan Chargers and Royal Challengers Bangalore. Now comes the biggest test, for nothing short of a victory will improve its chances.

Delhi has looked towards Gautam Gambhir, Shikhar Dhawan and Virender Sehwag to show the way with the bat but the middle order has come a cropper. The bowlers have been inconsistent but not in the Punjab ranks. The strongest point in Punjab’s favour is its bowling.

Even though it has lost Brett Lee and Simon Katich, the replacements have settled in and risen to the occasion, the most outstanding performer being Shaun Marsh.

He has been quite a revelation. It is now for Mahela Jayawardene and Yuvraj Singh to do justice to their reputations.

Bowlers have served Punjab brilliantly with S. Sreesanth, Irfan Pathan and Piyush Chawla looking to take wickets than containing the batsmen.

The team has gained immensely from the flexibility which Delhi lacks.

On a good pitch, one can expect a tall scoring game.

Gambhir would like to retain the Orange Cap for much longer even as Sehwag needs to rediscover his touch.

Dhawan has been on a roll but the same can not be said of any other batsmen.

It would be nice to see how Glenn McGrath bowls to a well settled batting line up.

Delhi’s test has begun now.

The teams (from):

Delhi Daredevils: Virender Sehwag (captain), Gautam Gambhir, Shikhar Dhawan, A. de Villiers, Rajat Bhatia, Shoaib Malik, Dinesh Karthik, Glenn McGrath, Mohammad Asif, V. Yomahesh, Pradeep Sangwan, Farveez Maharoof, Mithun Manhas, Brett Geeves, Manoj Tiwari, Amit Mishra and Tillakaratne Dilshan.

Kings XI Punjab: Yuvraj Singh (captain), James Hopes, Karan Goel, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Mahela Jayawardene, Irfan Pathan, Piyush Chawla, S. Sreesanth, V.R.V. Singh, Uday Kaul, Tanmay Srivastava, Pankaj Dharmani, Gagandeep Singh and Ramesh Powar.

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