The Sun Risers Hyderabad will take on an out of sorts Delhi Capitals side in Qualifier 2 of this IPL where the winner will go to the finals to meet Mumbai Indians. David Warner led SRH has made a stunning turnaround winning all of its last 4 games which were basically knockouts for them. Shreyas Iyer and his team have lots to ponder about coming to this game as their campaign has been downhill with just win from the last 5 games. In the league stages, SRH has had an edge over DC winning both those games.
SRH has been professional in their last 4 games and the results are a testament to the statement. The SRH bowlers put on a great show by restricting a dangerous RCB side to just 131 on a tough batting surface in Abu Dhabi. Jason Holder and Natarajan were particularly impressive picking up 3 and 2 wickets respectively. While Holder accounted for the RCB openers, Natarajan castled Mr.360 AB De Villiers. The batsmen in the absence of Saha made the target look slightly big but the calm heads of Holder and Williamson took the team past the winning line.
DC on the other hand is completely demoralized after their recent performances. Last game, their famed bowling attack went for plenty and let the Mumbai Indians post 200 runs on the board. Kagiso Rabada has struggled in the last few and seems like they ran out of steam after having a brilliant IPL. The DC’s batting was abysmal in the last game losing 3 wickets without any runs on the board. The only saving grace in the innings for them was the partnership between Marcus Stoinis(65) and Axar Patel who brought respectability to the score losing by 57 runs.
Key players from both sides
Batsman – Kane Williamson, David Warner, Shreyas Iyer, and Shikhar Dhawan.
Shikhar Dhawan has blown hot and cold throughout this IPL. He has scored 100’s or got out early with scoring any. If DC has to make a match out of it vs a rampant SRH, he will have to give his team a good start and contributing with a huge score. Kane Williamson was the hero of the last game as he maintained his composure in a nervy chase. He was rightly adjudged man of the match for his match-winning unbeaten 50. The DC skipper has been a little out of sorts in the past few games which are also one of the reasons why the team has performed so poorly in the last 5 games. David Warner has found his touch in the later half of the IPL which is good news for SRH. He is the one to watch out for.
All Rounder- Jason Holder, Rashid Khan, Marcus Stoinis, and Axar Patel.
Jason Holder has made a difference since his arrival in the SRH setup as an injury replacement. He has already picked 13 wickets from just 6 games. He is pretty useful with the bat as well having already played a couple of match-winning knocks including the one last game. Axar Patel has been bowling well in different phases of the innings and has been handy with the bat as well. He plays the containing role to perfection as his ER is just 6.46. Rashid Khan is having a sensational tournament with the ball in hand having taken 20 wickets at an ER of 5.30. In addition to his bowling, he is a good batman as well. Marcus Stoinis showed signs of getting back to usual best and could very well open the innings if the rumors are true. He is having a great IPL scoring 314 runs and taking 9 wickets.
Bowlers – Sandeep Sharma, T Natarajan, Kagiso Rabada, and Anrich Nortje.
T Natarajan too has been impressive so far and his yorkers could be a major factor in the death overs as he showed in the previous game. His dismissal of De Villers could have very made the difference between both sides. Sandeep Sharma is one of the underrated performers for SRH this season with 13 wickets from 12 games. He has given them breakthroughs in the powerplays fairly regularly and they will hope he does this again this game. Both the fast bowlers of DC despite taking wickets went for 86 in their 8 overs combined. The team’s chances of going into the finals depend on these 2 quicks.
Battles to look forward
- Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje vs David Warner and Kane Williamson
- Rashid Khan vs Rishabh Pant
- Jason Holder vs Shikhar Dhawan
It will battle of world-class overseas batsmen of SRH Warner & Kane Williamson against two of the best pacers in this IPL Rabada & Nortje. It is going to be an exciting contest and whoever comes on top will hand their team an advantage. Rashid Khan has been brilliant in containing the batsmen and if he is able to get the wicket of a dangerous Pant, it will be great for SRH. Shikhar Dhawan missed out last few games and will be hoping to make amends but may face threat in the form of lanky pacer Jason Holder who has picked some crucial wickets so far.
Head to Head between DC and SRH.
- Matches Played: 17
- SRH Won: 11
- DC won: 6
Significant Approaching Milestones.
21- Wriddhiman Saha needs 21 more runs to score 2000 IPL runs.
5- David Warner requires 5 more maximums to cross 200 IPL 6’s.
69- Ajinkya Rahane requires further 69 runs to cross 4000 career IPL runs.
Match conditions
Venue: Sheikh Zayed cricket stadium, Abu Dhabi.
Date & Timings: November 8, 2020, at 7.30 PM IST.
Weather: Clear with the temperature around 29 C.
Pitch: Likely to be a slow surface with possible due later on.
