IPL 5 Preview: Delhi Daredevils Vs Rajasthan Royals Match 39

Delhi Daredevils, fresh from their slaughter of Mumbai Indians, will relish the prospect of another sacrificial lamb in the form of Rajasthan Royals whom they host on Sunday, April 29, 2012, at the Ferozshah Kotla.

With Jayawardene’s return to form, against MI, added to Sehwag’s, DD look unstoppable. Rival bowlers have no relief in sight as this pair are followed by Pietersen and Taylor, not to speak of Ojha and Pathan who can also bat a bit.

But more than their batting, what impressed against MI was the way their bowlers stood up to the challenge posed by Pollard and Rayudu who were beginning to look threatening. Nadeem who had come in for some punishment in his earlier spell effectively ended the game by getting both batsmen in the course of a single over. Pathan underscored his all-round credentials by getting two useful wickets.

RR’s batting let them down when they chased an improbable 190 against RCB, with Dravid (58) the only batsman to show resolve. The batting is overly reliant on the openers and Owais Shah. None of the rest have shown any consistency during the current campaign.

The bowlers have been more consistent though the absence of an incisive wicket-taking bowler is hurting the side. Cooper has been the pick of the bowlers and he is also a more than useful batsman. Hogg is also a trier, but with the short boundaries of the Kotla, spinners have a very low margin for error.

DD are firm favourites going into this game, and Sehwag’s men have already emerged as the team to beat in IPL 5, with less than half the league matches played.

DD’s probable eleven: Sehwag, Jayawardene, Pietersen, Taylor, Nagar, Ojha, Pathan, Morkel, Agarkar, Nadeem, Yadav.

RR’s probable eleven: Dravid, Rahane, Shah, Goswami, Hodge, Binny, Cooper, Hogg, Singh, Trivedi, Chandila.

Tags: Delhi Daredevils, Dravid, India, IPL, Mumbai Indians, Preview, Rajasthan Royals, RCB, Sehwag, Yadav

Category: Cricket, IPL News