Match facts
Saturday, April 21, DelhiStart time 2000 (1430 GMT)
|
|||
|
Related Links
Series/Tournaments:
Indian Premier League
|
|||
Big picture
After losing a tight contest
against Chennai Super Kings on Thursday night, Pune Warriors have flown
two-and-a-half hours north to Delhi for their third consecutive away
game. Warriors made an impressive start in the tournament with three
wins out of four, but are now showing signs of homesickness. They have
lost three consecutive away games and slipped to the fourth position
after being on top for a while. That they are confronting a red-hot
Delhi Daredevils team doesn't make their task any easier.
One of the concerns for Warriors is the form of their captain, Sourav
Ganguly, who has scored only 85 runs this season. In Chennai, he faced
14 deliveries from the slow bowlers, his perceived area of strength, to
score eight runs. He fell to left-arm spinner Shadab Jakati, managing to
get the ball as far as mid-off. Against Daredevils, he won't have the
luxury of facing much spin. Expect Virender Sehwag to unleash his fast
bowlers on Ganguly.
Daredevils were lucky to get away with a win on Thursday against Deccan
Chargers. Kevin Pietersen scored an unbeaten century after being dropped
thrice while other big names faltered. Although they are at the top of
the table, Sehwag would want himself and his team to put up a strong
batting display to dispel doubts.
Players to watch
Ashish Nehra returns to his original home ground and his
experience of playing at Kotla and with Sehwag will be important when
Warriors devise their plans. Nehra made a good comeback in the previous
match, picking up two wickets, after his horror last over in Bangalore.
Shahbaz Nadeem is flourishing under Sehwag. He has picked up five
wickets in the last two matches while bowling at an economy of four.
Nadeem's form has ensured that Daredevils haven't missed Roelof van der
Merwe, allowing them to play Ross Taylor in his place.
2011 head-to-head
Daredevils played Warriors twice in 2011. They won a high-scoring game by three wickets in Navi Mumbai and the other was washed out.
Stats and trivia
- Irfan Pathan has bowled six maiden overs in all seasons of IPL, which is second behind Praveen Kumar's eight
- Robin Uthappa has 33 dismissals, some way behind Adam Gilchrist who leads the list for most dismissals, 50, in IPL history
Quotes"The leadership he has brought to the team is fantastic. He is highly motivated and he wants to contribute. He is a knock away from showing what a world-class player he was."
Allan Donald, Warriors' bowling coach, on Sourav Ganguly
"Facing him in the middle during practice, I found him very hard to hit."
Kevin Pietersen on Shahbaz Nadeem, the left-arm spinner
