David Warner will be well planned and will look to play a strong and sensible innings © AFP
Tarot reader Shruti Chopra looks into her cards to give CricketCountry.com readers exclusive insights into what lies ahead in the IPL matches. In the below piece, she dwells into the Delhi Daredevils vs Kolkata Knight Riders game on Tuesday.
---
The Delhi Daredevils will come into this game uncertain and still trying to figure out their plans. The Seven of Cups denotes a certain amount of confusion on how to approach the game. They will look to grow as the game progresses and put together a fine balance of intelligence and aggression. The Daredevils have the luck of the Wheel of Fortune and the energy from the Eight of Wands. They are mentally ready to take on the challenge, hence they do not carry too many set ideas. Instead, they will adapt themselves well. They have all the tools to succeed and are confidently holding on to this belief. They are ready to pounce when needed and allow the Star to guide them towards success.
Virender Sehwag will need to have a watchful start with the bat, as this will pave the way to a successful partnership and allow for important stability in building the team's innings. Sehwag will look to capitalise on this occasion and will relish the challenge. As a captain he will be wise like the Hermit, yet can easily be tempted to take risks like the Fool. He won't follow set rules to captaincy; he will be quite instinctive.
Key players
David Warner will be well planned and like the King of Swords and will look to play a strong and sensible innings.
Mahela Jayawardene will have a sedate start, which he will pick up and develop into a balanced and confident batting display. The Temperance shows that his calm and positive approach will see him through.
Ross Taylor is looking strong. He has the measured aggression to take the team forward and contribute, like the Ten of Pentacles to the team's innings.
Naman Ojha will look to be positive, but will benefit from more guidance in his wicket keeping and batting.
Irfan Pathan is happy, enthusiastic and looking to thrive in this challenge. His risks will pay off as he will have strong conviction in his plans. It will be a good day for him.
Morne Morkel will be steady and stable. Like the Four of Cups, he will capitalise on opportunities.
Umesh Yadav will start off well and in control. But with the Eight of Cups, there is a dip in performance, only to lift himself out of it and finish the day on a positive note.
Shahbaz Nadeem is looking intelligent and authoritative. His aggression will be well directed and will receive some important breakthroughs. The Nine of Pentacles does warn him to be careful of not leaking away too many runs.
The Knight Riders feel they are carrying a lot of responsibility and are building undue pressure on themselves. The Ten of Wands shows them wanting to handle and achieve too many things at once. They do have the right plans and aggression in place, but, like The Five of Swords, they will have the tendency to lose way. They will need to work harder on their fielding and stay better focused. This is going to be a tough journey, but they can see themselves through by maintaining better balance through their plans, as suggested by the Justice card.
Gautam Gambhir will initially look to take risks in his batting which, like the Queen of Pentacles, will pay off with a good strike rate. He will have good command over his batting, but will need to settle himself and not continue to take unnecessary risks. As a captain, he will be in control and like the Strength card, he will wish to dominate the opposition with his plans. Before being able to achieve this, he will need to be clear with his instructions. Otherwise, confusion can affect the team's performance.
Key players
Brendon McCullum will have a great start. He will be in control and aggressive, but unfortunately, he won't be able to capitalise on this.
Jacques Kallis, like the King Cups, is looking in command, but will not be attacking enough. He will need to pick up pace if he is to make best use of this opportunity.
Manoj Tiwary will have a good start. Like the Chariot, he will be well balanced and will have aggressive intent. He too will find it tough to take his innings further.
Yusuf Pathan will have a stable day all round. He will look to be aggressive with the bat and will manage to do so with success.
Shakib Al Hasan will feel the pressure and will find it harder to live up to expectations. He should be careful of leaking away runs.
Brett Lee will be like the Hierophant – balanced and aggressive. He will look forward to the challenge.
Sunil Narine will be hard to score off, but yet he won't be in the same rhythm as seen in recent games.
Lakshmipathy Balaji will bowl well and in tandem to the team's needs. A good start for him, but he will need to be careful towards the end if he is to finish well.
Who holds advantage?
Delhi Daredevils.
(London-born Shruti Chopra was introduced to cricket by her two older brothers. She spent some of her childhood time in Delhi and became an Indian cricket fan. She has remained an unflinching and passionate Indian cricket fan even after moving back to London, setting 3.00 am alarms to watch India play Test matches. It was during the 2011 World Cup that she brought together her passion for cricket with her profession of Tarot Reading, looking at the cards in the hope of spotting an India win coming through - which it did! You can know more about Shruti via Facebook, Twitter and her website)
