Indian Premier League 2019 Match 30, Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Delhi Capitals: Preview, likely XIs, predictions

Sunrisers Hyderabad will host Delhi Capitals for Match 30 of IPL 2019 in the last match of the weekend, on April 14, at Uppal. Delhi have won 4 matches out of 7 and Hyderabad 3 out of 6, so while Delhi hold an advantage, it is not a significant one.

The sides have already met in the tournament, at Feroz Shah Kotla. The Hyderabad bowlers did a magnificent job to restrict Delhi to 129/8. Other than Siddharth Kaul, none of the bowlers conceded more than 6.75 an over. Jonny Bairstow led the chase, and Hyderabad reached home with 9 balls in hand.

Delhi are upbeat after defeating Kolkata with some ease in Eden Gardens. Their top four – Prithvi Shaw, Shikhar Dhawan, Shreyas Iyer, and Rishabh Pant – are all in superb nick, Kagiso Rabada holds the Purple Cap, Ishant Sharma has rediscovered himself in the format, and Axar Patel has impressed with both bat and ball.

David Warner and Bairstow have been the best opening pair of the tournament. In Mohammad Nabi and Rashid Khan, Hyderabad have found a pair of overseas players so impressive they are forced to bench both Kane Williamson and Shakib Al Hasan. And their seamers have found the rhythm that had made them one of the most formidable units in IPL. They will also be playing after a 6-day break.

Head to head

With the win this season and two more in 2018 (all of them while chasing), Sunrisers now hold a 9-4 advantage over Delhi.

At Uppal last year, Shaw (65 in 36) had got Delhi to a flying start, but Rashid (4-0-23-2) restricted them to 163/5. Then Hyderabad won with a ball to spare despite Amit Mishra’s 4-0-19-2.

Pant’s smashed his much-acclaimed 63-ball 128 not out at Kotla, but Shakib (4-0-27-2) ensured Delhi could not go past 187/5. Dhawan (92* in 50) and Williamson (83* in 53) then guided Hyderabad to a win with 7 balls in hand.

Key players

Sandeep Sharma (Sunrisers Hyderabad): Not for the first time, Sandeep has been brilliant without a lot of people noticing. His 8 wickets (7 in last 4 matches) are the most for SRH this season, and his economy rate is a meagre 7.22.

Shikhar Dhawan (Delhi Capitals): Gabbar is back, and how! Dhawan turned his season around in the Kolkata match with an IPL career-best 63-ball 97 not out. He looked in ominous form throughout the innings, and will provide much-needed experience to an otherwise young, albeit explosive, top order.

Likely XIs

Sunrisers Hyderabad: David Warner, Jonny Bairstow (wk), Vijay Shankar, Mohammad Nabi, Manish Pandey, Deepak Hooda, Yusuf Pathan, Rashid Khan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar (c), Siddharth Kaul, Sandeep Sharma.

Delhi Capitals: Prithvi Shaw, Shikhar Dhawan, Shreyas Iyer (c), Rishabh Pant (wk), Colin Ingram, Chris Morris, Axar Patel, Rahul Tewatia, Kagiso Rabada, Ishant Sharma, Sandeep Lamichhane.

Prediction

Hyderabad, the better all-round side, to prevail (especially if they chase) – albeit not easily.