Raipur, Apr 27:
A lacklustre Delhi Daredevils will be desperate to change the course of their disastrous campaign when they square up against an equally out-of-sorts Pune Warriors in a Pepsi Indian Premier League match here tomorrow.
The match will also mark debut of a new venue — the ‘International Cricket Stadium’ — in the capital city of Chattisgarh and the successful staging of the two matches in this year’s league could well open the doors for international assignments in near future.
On paper, there is not much to choose between the two sides as they have been equally woeful losing matches on the trot.
While the Daredevils languish at the bottom of the table with seven defeats in eight games, the Warriors have fared no better this time having lost six games out of their eight encounters and are currently placed eighth.
Both teams are seeking redemption and being pitted against each other gives that perfect opportunity to both the sides to get some confidence back which has been battered by repeated failures.
While Daredevils could never recover from the twin-injury shocker of Kevin Pietersen and Jesse Ryder, Warriors have hardly produced an effort where they have done well in all departments.
Initially, Warriors’ batting was a cause of concern. But once that was sorted out, their bowlers started getting hammered.
If David Miller’s assault wasn’t enough, Chris Gayle’s 175 not out must have done a lot of psychological damage to their bowling unit.
In fact, the situation gives Daredevils a good opportunity to eke out a second win in the league as they might face a beleaguered side which is yet to recover from the ‘Gayle Storm’ that struck them. (PTI)
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