IPL 2023: Delhi will have to solve the middle order in the do or die match against Gujarat
Ahmedabad. Hurt by the dismal performance of Indian batsmen and middle order, Delhi Capitals will have to perform well in every department of the game when they take on Gujarat Titans here on Tuesday if they want to keep their hopes alive in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Barring Akshar Patel, none of the Indian batsmen playing for Delhi have been able to perform well so far. Delhi have now reached a do-or-die situation with six losses in eight matches due to the consistent failure of Prithvi Shaw and Sarfaraz Khan. Delhi will now have to win all their remaining six matches to ensure their place in the play-offs but it looks difficult considering the performance of their players.
Prithvi’s failure saw Phil Salt open the innings with skipper David Warner. He showed aggressive attitude in the last match and the team will expect a good performance from him as well as Warner and Mitchell Marsh, who comes to bat at number three. Marsh did a good job of his all-round game in the last match against Sunrisers Hyderabad. Delhi have lost a lot of wickets in the middle overs and they need to look into it. The in-form Axar Patel can be understood to be saved for the death overs but considering his impressive performances in the last 12 months, Warner can at least send him to bat at number five.
Due to the failure of the Indian batsmen, Priyam Garg got an opportunity and if he is not able to take advantage of it, then he himself is responsible for it. Experienced Manish Pandey will also have to do better at number four. The Indian bowlers in the Delhi squad have been doing relatively well but Mukesh Kumar definitely needs to improve his economy rate. Experienced Ishant Sharma has done well in the three matches he has played so far while Anrich Norkia will be eager to take wickets in the upcoming matches. Delhi now face Gujarat Titans who are adept at winning in any situation. He has won all his last three matches.
Also read: Not only with us, Yashasvi will shine internationally too: Sangakkara
Gujarat defeated Kolkata Knight Riders in the last match with 13 balls to spare. In this match, Vijay Shankar along with David Miller played one of the best innings of his career. This was Gujarat’s sixth win in eight matches. It has not been easy for any team to beat the defending champions this time. Left-arm fast bowler Joshua Little has now started to perform well while Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan and Noor Ahmed are doing very well in the spin department.
Squad: Delhi Capitals: David Warner (c), Prithvi Shaw, Sarfaraz Khan, Aman Hakim Khan, Abhishek Porel (wk), Akshar Patel, Khaleel Ahmed, Kuldeep Yadav, Rovman Powell, Riley Rossouw, Anrich Norkia, Mustafizur Rahman , Chetan Sakaria, Mukesh Kumar, Phil Salt, Lungi Engidi, Praveen Dubey, Lalit Yadav, Ripple Patel, Vicky Ostwal, Ishant Sharma, Manish Pandey, Kamlesh Nagerkoti and Yash Dhull. Gujarat Titans: Hardik Pandya (Captain), Shubman Gill, David Miller, Abhinav Manohar, Sai Sudarshan, Wriddhiman Saha, Matthew Wade, Rashid Khan, Rahul Tewatia, Vijay Shankar, Mohammed Shami, Alzarri Joseph, Yash Dayal, Pradeep Sangwan, Darshan Nalkande , Jayant Yadav, R. Sai Kishore, Noor Ahmed, Dasun Shanaka, Odion Smith, KS Bharath, Shivam Mavi, Urvil Patel, Joshua Little and Mohit Sharma. The match will start at 7.30 pm Indian time.
