The impressive Delhi Daredevils (DD) will square off against the unstoppable Gujarat Lions (GL) in Match 23 of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2016 at Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium in Delhi. GL are currently placed second on the points table with 4 wins in 5 matches, while DD are next with 3 wins from 4 games. They have a similar net run rate as well, so if DD win they could displace GL at No. 2 on the table; a win for GL will take them to the top of the points table.Live Cricket Scorecard:Delhi Daredevils vs Gujarat Lions, IPL 2016 Match 23 at Delhi
GL look a much better side on paper, with the likes of Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, Aaron Finch, Brendon McCullum, Dwayne Bravo, Dale Steyn, Dinesh Karthik, James Faulkner, Dwayne Smith, and others in the team. They have been supported well by the other Indian players in the side such as Pravin Tambe, Praveen Kumar, and Akshdeep Nath. However, GL could consider bringing a few changes to their line-up. Shadab Jakati has struggled in the last few matches, and could be replaced by mystery spinner Shivil Kaushik. Pradeep Sangwan too could be recalled if required.
On the other hand, DD have made superb use of their resources. Led wonderfully by Zaheer Khan, DD have utilised their players better than most other teams have in the tournament. In Quinton de Kock, DD have an explosive opener who can also play the long hand. They bevy of Indian talent in the form of Shreyas Iyer, Karun Nair, Sanju Samson, Pawan Negi, and Mayank Agarwal means that DD do not have to worry too much about their 7 Indian cricketers.
Shreyas has been in poor form in the tournament so far, but managed to spend some time in the middle in the last match. Mayank has not played much but can be brought back if needed. With other impressive youngsters such as Mahipal Lomror and Rishabh Pant waiting in the wings, DD will be quite confident of their Indian talent.
Meanwhile, DD’s senior pros have not disappointed either. JP Duminy scored an excellent 49 in the previous match, once again underlining his immense class in the middle order. Mohammed Shami and Amit Mishra have done well, and while Zaheer has not looked as threatening with the ball his on-field presence has made a massive difference. In Carlos Brathwaite, Chris Morris, Imran Tahir, Nathan Coulter-Nile, and Sam Billings DD have a wide variety of foregin players to choose from as well. With DD having discovered on a more or less settled line-up there will not be too many changes to the side, but if they decide to experiment they have enough options.
The match is being played at Feroz Shah Kotla, which means that DD will go into the match feeling quietly confident of a home win. DD have been by far the most impressive team following last season, and they will want to break into the top two with a win over a good GL side. Meanwhile, GL will not be overly bothered with the fact that DD are playing at home. This is a match between two teams with form and momentum on their sides, so predicting a result will not be easy. In any case, we can expect a good match at Delhi.
Squads:
Delhi Daredevils (DD): Zaheer Khan (c), Amit Mishra, Shreyas Iyer, Mohammed Shami,Shahbaz Nadeem, Mayank Agarwal, Jayant Yadav, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Imran Tahir, JP Duminy, Quinton de Kock (wk), Pawan Negi, Chris Morris, Sanju Samson, Carlos Brathwaite, Karun Nair, Rishabh Pant, Sam Billings, Chama Milind, Pratyush Singh, Mahipal Lomror, Saeed Khaleel Ahmed, Akhil Herwadkar, Pawan Suyal.
Gujarat Lions (GL): Suresh Raina (c), Brendon McCullum (wk), Dinesh Karthik (wk), Aaron Finch, Dwayne Smith, Dwayne Bravo, James Faulkner, Ravindra Jadeja, Amit Mishra, Pravin Tambe, Dale Steyn, Praveen Kumar, Pradeep Sangwan, Andrew Tye, Akshdeep Nath, Paras Dogra, Eklavya Dwivedi, Ishan Kishan, Shadab Jakati, Shivil Kaushik, Sarabjit Ladda, Jaydev Shah, Umang Sharma.
Time: 20:00 IST | 14:30 GMT
(Shiamak Unwalla, a reporter with CricketCountry, is an animal lover and comic, film and TV geek. A fast bowler at heart, he loves watching a good, low-scoring game of cricket. His Twitter handle is @ShiamakUnwalla)
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