Quinton de Kock and Sanju Samson are leading from the front in the batting department while Zaheer Khan and Amit Mishra are leading from the front with the ball.
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On the other hand, Punjab, whose performance in the tournament so far has been pedestrian, have managed to notch up just one win from five outings and are placed at the bottom of the points table among the eight teams. Wickets in the middle overs have got the Delhi Daredevils back into the game. Zaheer Khan’s side have good slow bowlers in their ranks and they will come in handy as the match progresses.
But come Wednesday it won’t be a cakewalk for the Daredevils since in Suresh Raina-led Gujarat Lions they face a formidable opponent which has impressed all and sundry in their debut season so far. Delhi Daredevils have played the fewest matches among all teams – 4, yet their three wins, along with a healthy Net Run Rate, has been sufficient for them to feature among the top four sides. They have lost to Kolkata Knight Riders.
Carlos Brathwaite, who became the toast of the cricketing world after hitting England’s Ben Stokes for four consecutive sixes to win the ICC World T20 final for the West Indies, is again likely to sit out as Daredevils are not expected to tinker their winning combination much. His appointment as the captain of the team was initially questioned, but the way the experienced left-arm seamer has handled his body, bowling and team has been one attractive story of this IPL.
To make matters worse for GL, wily leg-spinner Imran Tahir dismissed Karthik and debutant Ishan Kishan in consecutive balls. South Africa pacer Chris Morris returned a fairly economical 2/35 while his compatriot Jean-Paul Duminy (1/4) bagged a wicket in the only over he bowled.
McCullum is yet to show his full potential, even as Finch had struck three back-to-back half centuries in first three games, failing only against Sunrisers Hyderabad.
“If they send me down the order I have to finish the games and if they send me up the order I will have to build the innings and set stage for my team”.
– Suresh Raina has scored 382 runs against Delhi Daredevils in the IPL – the least for him against an opposition in IPL with more than 10 matches.
Both teams made two changes to their squad.
McCullum (60 off 36 balls) and Smith (53 off 30) gave Gujarat a blazing start as the dup put on 112 runs off just 64 balls for the opening stand after being invited to bat. Ravindra Jadeja will be useful down the order.
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Match starts at 3:30am BST/8pm IST.
