da bet sport： Kings XI Punjab and Delhi Daredevils, who were the bottom two teams last year and have begun the 2016 season with losses, will seek a turn in fortunes when they clash in Delhi on Friday
da dobrowin： The Preview by Sirish Raghavan14-Apr-20164:45
Nannes: Daredevils need to look at other overseas options
Match factsFriday, April 15, 2016
Start time 2000 local (1430 GMT)Big PictureThere are many similarities between Delhi Daredevils and Kings XI Punjab this season. Most notably, both teams have a sizeable core of young or inexperienced Indian players. Daredevils’ “strategic shift” towards youngsters has been overseen by Rahul Dravid, the India A and India Under-19 team coach, who has joined the set-up as mentor. Kings XI coach Sanjay Bangar also enjoys a good rapport with young Indian players and has spoken of the team’s deliberate effort to develop and nurture talent.With youth and inexperience, however, comes a certain rawness. This was on show during Daredevils’ batting implosion against Kolkata Knight Riders on a pitch with no real demons. Dravid’s young protégés must improve their approach to building T20 innings if better results are to follow. Kings XI’s youngsters have more of a safety net in the form of David Miller and Glenn Maxwell, but they too face a steep learning curve. All the same, the young talent on show in both sides will be exciting to follow.There are other similarities between the teams. Both have untested captains. Both had poor seasons last year and poor opening matches this year. Both are seen as underdogs. Both will be anxious for a return to winning ways on Friday. If some of their lesser names can shine in the process, that would be all the better.In the spotlightNot much went right for Daredevils against Knight Riders in their nightmarish IPL opener. A smiling Zaheer Khan still managed to find a positive, saying they had got their bad game out of the way early (The implicit assumption being there will only be one). But one of Daredevils’ anxieties surrounds Zaheer himself. Zaheer the captain is an unknown quantity. Zaheer the player is short of match practice and arguably past his prime. There are even concerns over whether he will be able to last the season. He will want to put all such concerns to bed with a convincing showing against Kings XI. A firing Zaheer is an asset to any team.Axar Patel could be key to Kings XI’s fortunes this IPL, particularly on the type of pitch Delhi usually throws up. Last season, he was Kings XI’s joint-second-highest wicket-taker. He was also the second-highest wicket-taker in this season’s 50-over Vijay Hazare Trophy, with 19 wickets in nine matches at an average of 14.63 and an economy rate of 3.27. His ability to chip in with cameos in the lower-order further adds to his value. In a fascinating sub-plot, Axar may be keen to out-do Daredevils’ Pawan Negi, the left-arm spinner selected ahead of him in India’s squad for the Asia Cup and the World T20.Team newsDaredevils may consider playing an extra spinner at the Feroz Shah Kotla, with Imran Tahir a good candidate to replace an off-colour Nathan Coulter-Nile. A cloud remains over JP Duminy’s fitness, meaning he may have to sit out this match as well.Delhi Dardedevils (probable) 1 Mayank Agarwal, 2 Quinton de Kock (wk), 3 Shreyas Iyer, 4 Sanju Samson, 5 Karun Nair, 6 Carlos Brathwaite, 7 Pawan Negi, 8 Chris Morris, 9 Amit Mishra, 10 Zaheer Khan (capt), 11 Imran TahirOn a potentially dry Kotla pitch, the slow cutters of Rishi Dhawan and even Farhaan Behardien could prove very handy. Kings XI might want to include them at the expense of medium-pacers Marcus Stoinis and Mohit Sharma, who struggled with the ball against Gujarat Lions. The inclusion of Behardien would also add depth to the batting.Kings XI Punjab (probable) 1 M Vijay, 2 Manan Vohra, 3 David Miller (capt), 4 Glenn Maxwell, 5 Wriddhiman Saha (wk), 6 Marcus Stoinis/Farhaan Behardien, 7 Axar Patel, 8 Mohit Sharma/Rishi Dhawan, 9 Mitchell Johnson, 10 Pardeep Sahu, 11 Sandeep SharmaPitch and conditionsThe Feroz Shah Kotla wicket is generally on the slower side, with spinners and wily medium pacers in their element. Dew is not as much of a factor as in some other grounds.Stats and trivia Nine of the last ten IPL matches at the Feroz Shah Kotla have been won by the team batting second These two teams brought up the rear in IPL 2015, with Daredevils finishing seventh on the table and Kings XI eighth
