Sports Pundit
Cricket

Delhi Daredevils v Kochi at Delhi IPL Preview Live

The Match: The 41st game of the Indian Premier league will be played between the Delhi Daredevils and the Kochi Tuskers Kerala and will be played at the Feroz shah Kotla stadium.

The Match: The 41st game of the Indian Premier league will be played between the Delhi Daredevils and the Kochi Tuskers Kerala and will be played at the Feroz shah Kotla stadium. This will be a home game for the Daredevils, following the away game that they had played the Kochi Tuskers in, only two days back. Time to get another early wickets>

How the two teams match up: Both the sides have won three and lost five in the tournament so far. Delhi’s three wins, including the previous game against the Tuskers have been scattered in the tournament while Kochi’s wins came in a quick succession, as did their losses in the last three games of the tournament. A win for either side will be good, but a loss will almost seal the side’s fate in the IPL this season. Will he get a start?>

Ground Conditions: The Feroz Shah Kotla has a reputation of being a slow and low wicket but on that grassy track against Punjab, it did have a lot going for the batsmen. Since then, the scores have tapered off drastically and it could be back to the difficulties for the batsmen.

The Teams: The Delhi Daredevils will be happy with their performance in the previous game but it must be said that on a track at Kochi which was low, only Virender Sehwag showed any kind of application. The Daredevils will hope that they can get more out of the batsmen than they did in the previous game with David Warner expected to come to the party once again.

Where the side obviously impressed was with the bowling. Irfan Pathan found his form and even Ajit Agarkar supported him rather well. Morne Morkel and Roelof van der Merwe were standout performers though, with three wickets to each and the side will look at them to deliver the goods with the ball.

The Kochi Tuskers lost their control in the last 10 overs of the bowling. They missed someone of the experience of Muthiah Muralitharan in their side and that is whom they will look to get back into the playing eleven. It could mean that Ramesh Powar could sit out, as could one of the foreign batsmen.

Players to look out for: The Daredevils will need Venugopal Rao to play a longer innings than what he has done so far, despite having played some vital cameos. On the other hand, the Tuskers will look at Brendon McCullum to get the runs.

Prediction: Mumbai is a difficult opposition to beat and unless Punjab can come up with the goods, the home team will remain favourites.