Indian Premier League 2019, Eliminator, Delhi Capitals vs Sunrisers Hyderabad: Preview, likely XIs, predictions

IPL 2019 still has four title contenders, three of which will be eliminated in the last three matches, leaving one team standing. The real knockouts begin here, with the Eliminator, when Delhi Daredevils take on Sunrisers Hyderabad at Visakhapatnam.

It is a tad unfair to bracket Delhi alongside Hyderabad. Delhi, third in the league, finished with 18 points, the same as the top two teams. Hyderabad might have finished fourth – but a solitary point separated the last five teams. In fact, Hyderabad became the first team in IPL history to qualify with 12 points.

Delhi, thus, have been the better unit. Hyderabad had begun well, but they owe a lot of their success to their opening pair of David Warner and Jonny Bairstow, who – till well into the tournament – were the two leading run-scorers in the tournament. Things have not been the same since their exit, though Manish Pandey – and to some extent, Wriddhiman Saha – have risen to the challenge.

Their bowlers, led by Rashid Khan, have impressed on the other hand. Their band of Indian seamers have helped Rashid well, as has Mohammad Nabi, who adds to the balance of the side with his all-round abilities.

Delhi, on the other hand, have been crippled by the Kagiso Rabada’s injury and subsequent exit. Trent Boult has not lived up to expectations as his replacement. The onus will be on him and Ishant Sharma to strike the early blows before their all-rounders – Keemo Paul, Axar Patel, and probably Chris Morris – come into play.

Head to head

Hyderabad hold a 10-5 lead, but both teams have won a match each this season, at the opposition’s home venues.

Shreyas Iyer (43 in 41 balls) had taken Delhi to 129/8 at Kotla as Nabi (4-0-21-2), Bhuvneshwar Kumar (4-0-27-2), Rashid (4-0-18-1), and Sandeep Sharma (4-0-25-1) all bowled brilliantly. Bairstow (48 in 28) then guided Hyderabad to a 5-wicket win with 9 balls to spare. Rahul Tewatia took 3-0-10-1 and Axar 4-0-18-1.

Iyer top-scored again, at Uppal, this time with a 40-ball 45. Colin Munro, too, got 40 in 24 as Delhi scored 155/7. Khaleel Ahmed got 4-0-30-3. Warner (51 in 47) and Bairstow (41 in 31) then added 72 in 59 balls, but once they were separated, Hyderabad collapsed to 116 against Rabada (3.5-0-22-4), Paul (4-0-17-3), and Morris (3-0-22-3).

Key players

Shreyas Iyer (Delhi Capitals): Iyer has top-scored for Delhi in both matches against Hyderabad this season. He has been the rock around which the Delhi batting line-up has functioned. However, his expert marshalling of his bowlers and fielders has been equally impressive.

Rashid Khan (Sunrisers Hyderabad): Rashid has been excellent this tournament (15 wickets, economy 6.46, strike rate 155), but more importantly, he has the ability to lift himself in crunch matches – as Kolkata Knight Riders had found out in last season’s Qualifier 2.

Likely XIs

Delhi Capitals: Prithvi Shaw, Shikhar Dhawan, Shreyas Iyer (c), Rishabh Pant (wk), Colin Ingram, Shrerfane Rutherford, Axar Patel, Keemo Paul, Amit Mishra, Trent Boult, Ishant Sharma.

Sunrisers Hyderabad: Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Martin Guptill, Manish Pandey, Kane Williamson (c), Vijay Shankar, Yusuf Pathan, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Khaleel Ahmed, Basil Thampi.

Prediction

Delhi, the better side in the tournament, to win.